


A Fire in the Shadows

by free_pancakes



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Angst, Angst and Drama, Avatar: The Last Airbender References, Earthbending & Earthbenders, F/M, Firebending & Firebenders, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender, alternative universe - avatar the last airbender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-17 05:00:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28719261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/free_pancakes/pseuds/free_pancakes
Summary: LeviHan in an Avatar the Last Airbender AU - a side story occurring alongside the events of ATLALevi, the nephew of a fire nation captain, stumbles upon a ragtag group of 5 known as the Scouts, formidably known for foiling the plans of local fire nation control, living in the forests a few miles north of Ba Sing Se.
Relationships: Levi Ackerman & Hange Zoë, Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoë, Levi/Hange Zoë
Comments: 52
Kudos: 85





	1. The Scouts

Lightning flashed, illuminating a silhouette of tall, looming trees lying just ahead. Levi winced in pain. The burns on his leg were fairing worse than he thought—he had to find refuge from the rain, fast. He limped as quick as he could towards the forest.

He made his way deep into the cover of trees, and sat down on the forest floor. He carefully stretched his leg forward, out from the beneath the branches above him, letting the rain wash over his wounds. Gritting his teeth, he stifled a yell. His vision began to darken at the edges, and he quickly grasped for the oil lamp and blanket from his backpack before he’d pass out from the pain. The last thing he needed was to freeze to death. He pointed his hand towards the lamp, and released a small burst of fire from his fingertips. Soon after, his vision went black. 

———

Levi woke up suddenly, his eyes in a daze, disoriented. He sat up and squinted at the warm sunlight that shined through the foliage above him. He noticed a cool, soothing sensation on his leg, and looked down. There were bandages wrapped around his burns, and the faint smell of some kind of ointment reached his nose. Levi lowered his head into his hands, desperately trying to recall the events of the night before.

He couldn’t erase the images from his mind—a village ablaze, and a defeated group of earthbenders on the ground, fear etched deeply into their expressions. He stood, shaking and staring at his hands, the shouts of his uncle behind him, telling him to finish them off already. Levi closed his eyes, knowing he had to make a decision here, one he didn’t want to regret. He looked forward and made eye contact with the group of benders, and they understood, scrambling to get up and run while Levi bought them time. Levi spun around to face his uncle, and the rest of his memories melted into a blur of flames, searing pain in his leg, and the faint sound of General Zeke and his other comrades shouting in the distance as he escaped the scene.

There was no turning back now, but he wasn’t sure what his end goal was. If anything, he knew he had to avoid running into his uncle Kenny again, or more importantly, General Zeke, but he was fairly sure he travelled far enough to be safe for now. He’d surely be jailed for his betrayal, as the targets he spared were quite valuable, controlling rebellion among the northern earth kingdom villages and cities. And if General Zeke found out this wasn’t the first time he spared the lives of those targeted by his fire nation regiment, he’d definitely suffer a fate worse than imprisonment. 

Levi’s mind swirled with endless thoughts, but he pushed them to the back of his mind. First thing’s first: He had to figure out where he was exactly and more importantly, who found him and bandaged his wounds while he was out.

Suddenly, the sound of crunching leaves and branches echoed from the left, jolting Levi back to reality. He panicked, lifted his head from his hands. He turned towards the noise and found himself locking eyes with a bespectacled girl squatting next to him, her face only 3 inches away from his. He let out a startled yelp.

“You’re awake!” she exclaimed. 

Levi’s eyes widened. He didn’t know what to do. Who was this girl and how did she find him? More importantly did she see him firebending into the lamp last night? 

No, she couldn’t have. 

There was no way someone from around this area would tend to the wounds of a firebender. Luckily, he played an undercover role in last night’s mission, so he was in civilian clothes instead of his uniform.

“You scared me a bit—you’ve been out for a whole day. I created my own special remedy for burns and put that on your leg, so I hope that’s okay with you!” He tried standing up, but she gently pushed his shoulder to lay him back down. “You should probably get some rest before I go help you find your parents!”

“What?” Levi croaked. 

“Your parents! I’m sure they’re worried sick.” she exclaimed.

“I’m NINETEEN.”

The girl threw her head back and burst out in laughter. Levi felt a vein pop in his forehead. “Oi, what the hell’s so funny, four-eyes?” She fell backwards giggling, wiping tears from her eyes. 

“I thought you were the same age as my little brother, Moblit.” 

“And how old is he?”

“Thirteen!” She burst out in laughter again, and Levi was sure some artery burst in his brain. He knew he was small for his age, but this was ridiculous. He knew this girl for a total of five minutes and he had never been so annoyed in his life.

After she finally calmed down, she crawled up towards Levi and sat back down next to him. “So, I’ve wanted to ask you— why are you here in the forest? And how did you get those burns? They were pretty severe, to be honest. Are they from fighting or escaping from fire nation soldiers? You must be pretty strong if you survived! Oh and where did you get this oil lamp, it’s pretty nice! And—“

“Enough!” Levi couldn’t think straight as the girl kept babbling on. “You’re not even giving me time to think before asking another question!” Levi replied.

“Well ~sorry~, I thought that the person who just saved your sorry ass deserved having some of her questions answered,” she pouted, looking deep into his eyes. 

Levi rolled his eyes. “Fine, I… ran away from home.”

“Oooh a bad boy, huh?" she teased. "Where’s home?”

Levi hesitated so he could choose his words carefully. He had spent time undercover in Ba Sing Se, so he could probably get away with that cover-up. “Ba Sing Se,” he lied. 

“Oh a city boy too! Oh you’ll HAVE to take me there some time! I could buy more supplies and ingredients for medications that I make. And I hear the tea shops in there are quite lovely! And better materials to build traps!” Her eyes sparkled with immense excitement and curiosity. Levi was annoyed at her constant talking, yet oddly enough, he was mesmerized by the endless energy in her voice. Who was this girl?

“Well I’ll spare you—I won’t pry into your life anymore… for now.” She smiled brightly at him. “You should join my friends and me!”

She looked upwards in thought, her right hand lightly gripping her chin. “Judging upon the fact you dragged yourself out here managing to survive your injuries and last night’s freezing temperatures, you definitely have the heart of a fighter.” 

She looked down and carefully adjusted the bandages on his leg. “And with these burns wounds, my guess is that you’re not a fan of the atrocities that the fire nation soldiers have launched upon these parts either. So! I think you could be a great asset to our team!” She held out her hand excitedly towards Levi, and said, “My name’s Hange. What’s yours?”

Before Levi could respond, the sound of rope thumping against tree bark and rustling of leaves echoed from above. He heard faint sounds of whispering, and saw four shadows approaching through the foliage. A small boy suddenly popped out from the bushes.

“Hange! There you are!” The boy ran and clung onto Hange’s arm, tears welling up in his eyes. “We were so worried about you, you didn’t come back after the storm last night and—“ He immediately stopped talking and looked towards Levi, and his eyes diverted down towards his bandaged leg. Hange reached her hand towards the boy’s head and ruffled his hair. 

“Don’t worry, Moblit, I’m alright. Sorry for worrying you. I ran into this shorty here and I couldn’t just leave his pathetic self out here to die of hypothermia!”

A tall, older boy with blonde hair appeared from the behind the trees, holding 2 hooked swords. Then, a much taller boy with bangs covering his eyes, and a girl with short blonde hair walked forward quietly, both holding a bow and satchel of arrows, carefully approaching Levi.

“Hi everyone! Look, I think I just found us a new friend to join our team!” Hange said excitedly. The three older teens approached Levi, glaring with distrust in their eyes. They loomed over Levi, Hange, and Moblit.

Levi mustered the courage to speak with confidence, unwilling to show any hint of fear in his voice. “Who are all of you?” Levi asked. 

The blonde-haired boy walked closer, his fierce blue eyes meeting Levi’s gaze. 

“Who is this, Hange?” 

“A grumpy old shorty I found out here last night! Don’t worry Erwin, he has a good heart. I can just tell!” She looked back towards Levi and smiled warmly at him. He felt a knot form in his chest after hearing her words--if she knew what crimes he's committed for the sake of the fire nation, she wouldn't be saying such things. Despite Levi’s growing fear and sadness in the current situation, her smile put him at ease. 

“And I was just about to ask him his name!” She exclaimed, turning to smile at Levi.

In contrast to Hange’s warm expression, Erwin, Mike, Nanaba, and Moblit shot a cool glare at Levi. He scowled and glared back at them, and then looked away from their darting gaze. 

“Levi.”

“Levi?” Erwin asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah, Levi. Just… Levi.”

“Hm. Well I’m Erwin. Just… Erwin.” Erwin crossed his arms, not breaking eye contact. 

“Alright Levi. From the looks of it, you’ll be out of commission for at least 2 weeks with those injuries, but under Hange’s care, you’ll probably be all healed within the next week. Then we’ll decide what we’ll do with you.” Levi stared back towards Erwin, with a glare matching his intensity.

With a subtle, threatening tone in his voice, Erwin added, “And to answer your question, the 5 of us together are known as the Scouts. 

”Levi’s eyes widened for a split second, and then he reverted back to his resting scowl, trying to cover up any inkling of fear he might have just shown. Levi knew exactly who the Scouts were, just like the Freedom Fighters out on the other side of Ba Sing Se, but from the rumors he heard, a lot more formidable of a group. They had successfully thwarted fire nation plans in several villages up here in the northern portion of the Earth Kingdom, but have been impossible to pin down, so running into them, let alone speaking with them… was quite a rare feat. But something was even more surprising than this. From the word that spread, the Scouts sounded much older, and he was shocked to find that these guys were just a group of non-bender teens.

Even worse, from the looks of it, none of them trusted him. With the exception of Hange. He could not believe that his fate rested in the hands of a four-eyed weirdo.

With his hand in his pocket, he slid his index finger, tracing the edges of the fire nation emblem on a good luck charm his mother gave him many years ago. However, luck was not on Levi’s side today—This was the probably the most dangerous group of people a fire nation soldier like him could have ever run into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super excited to imagine the vets like the Freedom Fighters from ATLA, and Levi as a firebender. Hope it was a fun read! Hopefully I can find time to write another chapter soon!


	2. Trust

“No, I won’t!” Levi cried out. He woke up suddenly, his heart thumping wildly against his chest. He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Nightmares have plagued Levi nearly every night since he officially became a soldier, but he rarely remembered the details of his dreams. He would simply jolt awake, beads of sweat forming on his brow—like tiny droplets of fear and regret lingering on his skin.

“Hey Levi, are you okay? Did you have another bad dream?” Hange squinted at him from the other corner of the small room. His startled yell must have woken her up, he thought. She was clearly half-asleep, eyes ridden with exhaustion, hints of drool hugging the corner of her mouth, glasses balanced crookedly on the tip of her nose.

“It’s okay, Hange. Go back to sleep,” Levi said quietly.

“Alrighty,” Hange yawned. She laid back down next to Moblit who was cuddled up next to her, and soon the sound of her snores filled the room again. Levi quietly crawled towards Hange, carefully slid her glasses off of her face, and set them down beside her. He then slipped out from the room and stepped outside of the little hut. 

Hange was kind enough to let him share a room with her and Moblit for the last 5 days, as there wasn’t a spare room in their refuge in the trees. Levi still could not believe that he was actually up here, sleeping in a literal treehouse for the past few nights, at least 70 feet above the ground. 

He continued along the narrow path outside the hut and peered over the edge of the rails. Looking down at the countless sets of branches and leaves under him, his eyes glimmered in awe over how the Scouts managed to figure out how to live here. He looked ahead, his gaze following the extensive sets of rope bridges connecting huts from tree to tree, each holding either one of the Scout’s quarters, or acting as storage space for food, weapons, supplies, medications, and other materials they needed for their activities. They had animal traps and pulley systems stretching throughout many areas of the vast forest. 

Levi limped across the nearest bridge towards a ladder leading up to a looking post that extended above the trees. His leg wasn’t fully healed yet, but he managed to make his way up the ladder, albeit slowly. 

The view was simply breathtaking from up there, dawn hurling shades of lilac and orange over the edge of the horizon. Levi closed his eyes as the cool morning breeze gently pushed strands of hair out of his face, and with that, memories of his mother spilled into his thoughts. 

On the night before she died, he remembered her hands softly pushing his hair back and tucking it around his ears, her lips planting a small kiss on his forehead. “Levi, someday you might find yourself having to making difficult choices and I won’t be there by your side to help you. The fire nation is not the peaceful land it used to be. So, being born into this world with firepower at your fingertips at this day in age might be a burden to carry, but don’t forget that the most powerful thing about you, Levi, is right here.” She gently placed her finger on his chest, right over his heart. She smiled warmly and took his hand, dropping her good luck charm in his palm. She closed his fingers around it.

Levi opened his eyes and looked down at the charm in his hand, a small metal keychain embossed with the fire nation emblem, and gripped it tightly in his fist. He wondered why these memories decided to flood his mind—why now?

Suddenly, he felt something hit his head. He watched a small pinecone drop and roll away in front of him. He spun around to find Moblit peeping his head through the small opening in the floor. “Tch,” Levi sputtered. He tossed the pinecone back at Moblit, bonking him on the head. Moblit giggled, and climbed up into the deck, a small satchel hung around his arm. He dumped its contents onto the floor. He slid half the food towards Levi, as well as a small jar of ointment. “You forgot to put this on your leg before you came up here,” Moblit said shyly. Levi nodded silently, and started applying it onto his skin, inhaling sharply at the slight burning sensation. Moblit quietly munched on an apple while carefully observing Levi. 

After he was finished tending to his leg, he reached for his sandwich, and right before he could take a bite, he was interrupted with a question.  
“Why did you come here?” 

He looked up at Moblit, whose head was cocked questioningly to the side. 

“To get away from your sister’s loud ass snoring,” Levi sighed.Moblit laughed, “No no, why did you come here that night? To this forest?”

Levi chose his words carefully. “I was running away from home.”

“Well those burns, did you escape from…” Moblit lowered his voice to a whisper, “…firebenders?”

“…Yes. And that’s enough questions for now,” Levi said with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. He was just like his older sister, asking way too many questions, but least he was much more polite about it than Hange. He exercised patience when it came to Moblit because other than Hange, he was the only Scout who at least started to warm up to him over the past few days.

“Hm, okay,” Moblit pouted. “Thanks for answering my questions. You’re pretty nice, yknow?”

Levi scoffed. “What makes you think that?”

“Hmmm well…” Moblit put his apple down and hugged his knees to his chest. “You don’t say anything when Erwin or Mike are rude towards you. And you try to help my sister carry her supplies even though it’s hard to keep up with her with your leg like that. Oh! And I notice you trying to wipe down dusty surfaces, which frankly is kinda weird…”

“Clearly, none of you can manage to keep things clean,” Levi retorted softly.

Moblit laughed. “You’re not wrong.” He then looked down and said bashfully, “And you take off Hange’s glasses when she falls asleep with them on. I think that’s nice.”

Levi blushed—embarrassed, he quickly turned to look out over the trees away from Moblit. This kid was quite observant, Levi thought. Which meant that he should continue to be careful with his words and actions—he couldn’t let him figure out who he really was, because who knows what Erwin, Mike, and Nanaba might do to him. They weren’t benders, but outnumbering him with their level of skill could be problematic, and he wasn’t sure if Hange or Moblit would defend him if they discovered his secret. 

If anything, Levi was thankful that Moblit developed a small liking towards him. He thought that Hange probably convinced Moblit to be nicer to him, but it seems he came to this decision all on his own. With that in mind, Levi figured this might be his chance to inquire more about the Scouts.

“Hey Moblit, can I ask you something?” Moblit looked into Levi’s eyes with an intense curiosity. “Why are you all so opposed for me to possibly join your group?”

“Because Erwin doesn’t like you!” He exclaimed matter-of-factly. Levi was caught aback—kids really are just brutally honest sometimes, he thought. “Why?”

“Well, I’m not completely sure, we don’t really talk too much, just the two of us. Buuuut my guess is that they don’t trust you because that’s sort of their default? We’ve had some potential members join our squad in the past and they ended up betraying us.” Sadness fell over his face. “We almost lost Nanaba that one time…“

“Hey you two!” Unintentionally interrupting their conversation, Hange jumped up onto the deck with a goofy smile spread across her face. “I’ve been looking all over for you both! Moblit—Nana wanted you to help her set up the animal traps.”

“Okay, Hange!” He stood up quickly, grabbed his satchel, and hurried towards the ladder. He looked back at Levi and gave him a small wave before heading down to help Nanaba.

Hange bent down to check on Levi’s leg, inspecting the burn wounds. “They’re healing quite nicely, Levi! Hey, if you’re up for it, would you like to come assist me with tending to the wounded in a nearby village?” Hange leaned a bit closer to Levi in excitement. “We just received word of it, and I just know I have some healing salves I’ve been working on that would be of great help!” She looked up towards the sky with a warm smile on her face, her eyes aflame with determination and excitement. The sunrise shrouded the outline of her frame with a warm glow, while her fiery passion to help anyone in need burned brightly inside of her. She was simply a ball of sunshine, radiating light inside and out, and he was utterly mesmerized. Levi had lost his sense of determination since his mother died, and didn’t have much driving him forward or really any goals in his mind to to pursue, other than wanting to defy his uncle, or General Zeke. He felt he had no purpose, but here was this woman, a force of nature living with all the purpose in the world. He was simply entranced by all of her. He’s known her for less than a week and there have been multiple moments like this one, and where he simply could not look away. However, Levi felt that there was something more about her that he felt drawn towards, but he just couldn’t put a finger on it. 

“Levi? Hellooooo!” She waved her hand in from of his face with no reaction. “Levi? …HEY SHORTY!” She yelled into his face. Levi finally looked up and locked eyes with hers. He was completely lost in his thoughts, but he was now suddenly aware of how close she was to him, peering into his eyes. Startled, Levi broke out of his trance and he shifted, his knee accidentally bumping into Hange’s back, causing her to yelp out in surprise and topple over right on top of him. 

For a fleeting moment, they laid in each others arms, both of them suddenly feeling oddly comfortable being so close to each other. Quickly, the moment fizzled and Hange nervously scrambled to stand up. Levi blushed as he swiftly scooted himself from underneath her. 

“Levi, I’m so sorry, is your leg okay??” Hange asked with worry written all over her face. He waved her off, and stood up. 

“Yes, don’t worry, it’s okay. And to answer your question, I’ll come with you to help.”

“Oh Levi, thank you!” she smiled brightly. “It’s a large village just northeast of here! There were many casualties among the people there, so a lot of injured people to look after!’

Levi froze. 

...What? 

Flashbacks of the night he escaped flooded his mind. “…You said a village n-northeast of here?”

“Yes!” Hange exclaimed. “They were attacked by fire nation soldiers just a few days ago, sadly enough.”

Levi broke a sweat, panic quickly taking over. He desperately thought of a way to avoid going back to that village. Why of all places did it have to be that village? He did not need to be reminded of how he sustained his current injuries, but more importantly, he did not want to risk someone recognizing him from that night and blow his cover.  
“Oh, actually... maybe I shouldn’t go. I might be a burden to you with my injury and all…”

“Nonsense! You’ll be a great help, Levi. Our intel shows that the fire nation troops that were there are long gone for now and don’t show any hint of movement currently, so we’ll be safe! Plus, you might be able to meet some earthbender friends of mine—I believe one or two may have been in the village during the incident, so they should be there!” She grabbed Levi by the hand and they started towards the ladder. 

He considered standing firm in his opposition, but he weighed the pros and cons, concluding that his denial might make the Scouts suspicious. Levi gulped—he did not like where this was going.

———————————

They mounted the backs of two ostrich-horses, and made their way out of the forest towards the village, the early morning sun lighting their path. 

After about an hour of Hange babbling on about her ideas on new animal trap designs, the two shared a few moments of peace and quiet, other than the soft sounds of the ostrich-horses feet sliding against the dirt as they continued forward.

“I didn’t realize the Scouts did more than infiltrate fire nation activity,” Levi said, breaking the silence.

“Well yes, we do all sorts of things! I mean that’s primarily what we do, but I mean, there’s so much more things for us to do to help around here,” Hange said excitedly. “Whether that’s bringing food surplus, or aiding to wounded and sick, we try to aid the Earth Kingdom civilians. They’re all really good people, yknow? They don’t deserve this.”

“Well, even if you take part in ways to help like this, what do you hope to do about the fire nation ultimately? Do you have a plan? And…do you think the world could ever change back to how it used to be?” Levi asked. 

Levi wondered—was there a way the Scouts thought they could defeat fire nation troops? Because Levi knew it would be impossible to win. At this point, all seemed hopeless, and the Firelord will continue to make moves to take over this world and hurt all these innocent people. He may have made the hard decision to leave his nation behind, but beyond that, figuring out his next move almost felt pointless. How was Hange so optimistic and filled with purpose? Levi desperately needed to hear her answer.

“Wow, Levi,” she teasingly punched his shoulder. “Why are you so talkative all of a sudden? Have you finally decided to break your gloomy silence?”

“Just answer the question, four-eyes,” Levi huffed. 

“Aw okay,” Hange pouted. “Well…” Her expression changed ever so slightly, into one of seriousness, hints of sadness in her eyes. “There is no plan.”

“What do you mean there’s no plan? I thought the infamous Scouts would have some kind of plan to overthrow the northern fire nation troops. I mean, I’ve heard you’ve all infiltrated and ruined their raids plenty of times.”

“You’re right, Levi. But in the end, defeating the fire nation is not our role.”

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, that it’s the Avatar’s job to do that, silly!” She said matter-of-factly.

“What, you believe in that crap? It’s been almost 100 years since the Avatar went missing.”

“There are rumors that he will come back someday to restore the peace that used to be, but anyway…” She balled her right hand into a fist and softly tapped Levi’s chest with it. “You can believe what you want to believe, Levi! But in the end, we’re just simply a side-story to something bigger. But just because we’re a side role, doesn’t mean we aren’t significant!” Levi looked down at Hange’s hand, and he remembered his mother’s words, her finger lying over his heart. Hange grinned at him, “As Scouts, we decided that our role is to protect those within our reach. And maybe once you’re all healed up, I really hope you decide to join us.”

———————————

They arrived at the entrance way to the village, Hange and Levi staring at the burned ruins and destruction of half the buildings there. Tents were set up all around tending to wounded, and several people were walking around carrying food and supplies. He felt sick to his stomach seeing all the damage done—he felt nothing but shame. 

“Hange!” A young, brown haired girl ran up to give Hange a hug. “It’s so good to see you Sasha,” Hange said softly, and pulled her into her embrace. Levi felt the strength of their bond from where he stood, those feelings of strength and solidarity with each other after years of fighting against the shit that his own comrades plagued these lands with. He tried to push his sadness to the deep recesses of his heart, and continued to say vigilant. 

As Sasha explained to Hange how the wounded were divided up amongst the tents, Levi looked around in worry. He tried to avert his eyes from anyone else’s gaze, lessening the chance anyone could recognize him. There’s was too much chaos that night, and it’s not like he would have known who was there, but there was a higher chance that someone recognized who he was. 

“Levi!” He looked up towards Hange. “Come on, I think I’ll have you join one of our trusted comrades to help hand out our sets of bandages we brought.” The three of them walked into the nearest tent.

“Hey, Jean!” Hange said brightly. They walked towards the tall, messy-haired boy. She firmly placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly. “How’s the rebuilding efforts going?”

“Slow, but sure. Mikasa, Eren, Armin, and Connie went on to the next village over to help, but Sasha and I have been working pretty hard here.”

“Great, I’m so proud of you both.” She turned to Levi, “Jean is one of the earthbenders along with Sasha that work with us closely, and use their bending to help construct and rebuild where they to speed up construction for shelter to house all of the surviving civilians who lost their homes. But Jean here is gonna take a break, and help you hand out supplies! Go say hi!” She cheerfully pushed Levi in front of her and towards Jean, while she turned back to Sasha to continue discussing their plans. 

Levi crossed his arms, and looked up towards Jean, who stared back at him, his eyes wide, shock written all over his face. And his shock slowly faded into fear. The two stared at each other, paralyzed. After a moment, Levi came to his senses—he couldn’t let Hange and Sasha see Jean’s reaction to their meeting. He took Jean’s shoulder and turned him to face the other way. “Hange, I think Jean and I will start heading towards the other tents,” Levi said quietly.

“Okay!” She squeezed Levi’s hand. “Meet you back here in an hour, alright?”

“Alright,” Levi said quickly. He swept Jean away and swiftly made their way out of the tent. They continued behind the remains of a destroyed building around the corner, away from all the people walking around. 

Levi grabbed Jean’s shirt and shoved him back against the rough, brick wall. “Don’t. Say. Anything.” He tightened his hold on Jean’s collar.

“Not to anyone here, not to anyone who was with you that night, and especially not to Hange.”

Jean was amazed at Levi’s strength, but quickly came to his senses and tried to wriggle himself free. “I won’t, I won’t! Please just let me go,” he pleaded. Levi stared at Jean intensely, and then loosened his grip, letting Jean slide down to the floor. Thinking fast, Jean, hit the ground with his heel, causing the rocky earth to jut forward, encasing Levi’s feet under the dirt, subduing him. Levi lost his balance and fell forward onto his knees. He pushed a flame from his right palm in his frustration, but as he saw Jean’s frightened eyes reflect the fire in his hand, he remembered that he was one of the benders he decided to defend that night. Levi put out the flame and sighed, closing his eyes and looking away. 

Jean looked at Levi curiously. “So, I take it that your change of heart that night wasn’t just a fluke?”

Levi didn’t answer, and continued to avoid Jean’s gaze. After a few moments of silence, Jean slid his foot across the ground, and the rock around Levi’s feet smoothly disintegrated back down into the rough soil under him. 

Levi finally looked up and locked eyes with Jean. “Just… just don’t tell Hange. Or any of the Scouts. Please.” Underneath Levi’s scowl, Jean noticed a small hint of softness in his eyes. Even though his head screamed in defiance and told him not to trust the young man in front of him, Jean knew that his gut feelings and judgment was almost always right—so he decided to follow those feelings instead. 

“Don’t worry, Levi. And… your decision to turn on Kenny, did save us that night. So I do owe you my life.” He relaxed a bit, letting his guard down, and leaned against the wall behind him. “But can I ask, why? Why did you suddenly… decide to side with us?”

“I am not siding with you,” Levi muttered. “I’m not siding with anyone. I did what I did because I chose to, on my own accord.” 

Levi knew exactly what triggered him to finally stop passively carrying out missions for the fire nation, blindly following whatever propaganda they spewed out to him his whole life, but he didn’t think it was important to share that information with anyone. It was in the past, and he simply had to live with everything he did prior. But what he did feel compelled to share with Jean was what he intended to do with his life from now on—Levi wanted to be honest with someone for once in his life. On top of that, he wanted to gain Hange, Moblit, and the rest of the Scouts’ trust. For the first time, he felt that he might have a shot at finding purpose in his life if he followed them. 

And he hated to admit it, but he felt drawn towards the four-eyed weirdo. He might have been surrounded by fire and flame his entire life, but he’s only ever felt cold for a long time. But when she babbled on about her stupid shit around him, he strangely felt... warm.

“My choice... is to work with Hange, and the rest of the Scouts. But in order to do that, I need you to do something for me.”

Levi reached his hand out towards Jean.

Jean looked at the intense determination in Levi’s eyes, and hoped with all of his heart that helping Levi wouldn’t be a mistake.

They shook hands, confirming their pact.

———————————

Night fell upon the forest, and Levi climbed up once again onto the deck of the Scout’s looking post, staring out at the vast evening sky, the leaves shrouded in the glow of the moon, like a glimmering sea stretched out in front of him. He sat in his thoughts leaving his food beside him, untouched. He wasn’t sure if Jean pulled through successfully, and his fate rested on whether or not they believed him. He couldn’t stand thinking about leaving Hange and Moblit behind, let alone them turning on him if Jean broke his promise. Because then, he’d be truly alone and wouldn’t really know what to make of himself anymore. 

A rustling of leaves broke his train of thought.

Without turning around, Levi spoke. “Hey Moblit, if you wanted some more food, you could have some of mine. I’m not really hun—“

Erwin cleared his throat. Levi quickly recognized that this definitely wasn’t Moblit and spun around. He craned his neck up to look towards Erwin standing directly behind him, his intense, blue eyes fixated on the view. 

“Levi, what do you plan on doing once Hange is finished tending to your injury?”

Levi scowled and looked away, unwilling to answer Erwin. 

“I figured you wouldn’t respond to that kind of question, coming from me.”

Suddenly, Levi felt Erwin’s hand on his shoulder and found himself being shoved down onto the floorboards. Erwin laid his foot on Levi’s chest, and pointed his hooked sword at Levi’s face. 

“Hange tells me that Jean spoke very highly of you. Did you convince him to say that?”

Levi glared back at Erwin and spoke unphased by the physical threat.

“No. We worked together once about a year ago,” Levi lied. 

Erwin knew this information checked out according to what Hange told him, but kept his stance. “Jean is a trusted comrade of ours, but although this has convinced the rest of our team, I’m not thoroughly convinced. You’re gonna have to prove that to me over time, after you’ve spent at least a few months with us as a Scout.”

…As a Scout? Levi wouldn’t ever consider him feeling “joy” even in his happiest moments, but this was probably the closest he’s ever been to that sort of overwhelming emotion. However, he maintained his calm demeanor. No need to let Erwin see him break. 

“Before you officially join us, I need you to understand this. The Scouts have my utmost respect and loyalty. But Hange has been by my side since we were kids. She has always been like a little sister to me.” Levi continued to match the intensity of Erwin’s stare, and showed no sign of backing down.

“You two seem to work together very well, and we’ll confirm this when we start training you up to par with how we fight…” Levi internally scoffed—he was only a respected fighter for his age among high fire nation ranks. “…but I only have a gut feeling that you both will be paired on missions together often, based on the synergy of your complementary energies.”

Levi wasn’t surprised that all the Scouts were ridiculously observant people, but Erwin was considerably more calculating.

“And I don’t know why, but she seems to put a lot of faith in you. So Levi, if anything were to happen to Hange on your watch or if you hurt her in any way…”

Erwin pushed his sword against Levi’s neck.

“Levi, promise me that you’ll protect Hange always, at all costs.”

Levi pushed Erwin’s sword out of the way gently, balled his right hand into a fist and laid it over his heart. He thought of Hange’s goofy smile and the beautiful fire present in her eyes when she looked at him. 

“I will protect her with my life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh I really liked writing that first scene! 
> 
> this was definitely a set-up chapter, and I'm really excited to start the next chapter based on the ideas i have! hope this one wasnt too boring--lmk your thoughts!


	3. Bonds

Under the warm light of the afternoon sun, six shadows lurked among the trees, blending into the deep green, swiftly moving towards a small fire nation camp set somewhere deep within the forests just north of Ba Sing Se. The shadows made quiet, calculated movements, positioning themselves in a precise manner, high and low, surrounding the tents below. 

“Hey man, did you hear something?” 

Two fire nation soldiers looked around at the surrounding foliage.

“Hm, maybe your ears are still ringing from the explosives we tested out earlier.”

“Oh, you’re probably right,” he muttered. He shook his head and looked down at the cup of tea in his hands, carefully heating up his fingers just enough to warm it, steam gently swirling upwards from his drink. While the soldiers continued to set up more tents, tend to the ostrich-horses, and gather tinder for a campfire, a distinct bird call cut sharply through the calm, quiet air.

A muffled voice from the trees above whispered, “There’s the signal, let’s go.”

All of a sudden, yelling sounded from inside the large tent in the center of the camp. “Hey! There’s a little brat in here!” Soldiers rushed towards the tent from all sides, but an arrow shot down into the ground between them and the tent, stopping them in their tracks. 

“What the—“

Arrows began to shower down from the trees, preventing the soldiers from entering the tent. They began hurling fire upwards at random, unsure of the location harboring the source of the attack.

Up in the branches hidden behind the leaves, Nanaba quickly turned, shielding her body behind the tree trunk, nearly hit by a fireball thrown just past her. She gritted her teeth and called out, “Mike, you good over there?”

“Of course! How bout you?”

“Planning to take out more soldiers out than you today,” she smirked.

“Hah—no way am I gonna lose to you!” Mike yelled back with a grin.

Both jumped downwards and gripped the knotted tree branches with their gloved hands, swung down a few levels, and continued firing arrows at the troops. 

Down below, three soldiers were brought down fast by two hooked swords grabbing at their ankles, their heads rattling in their helmets after smacking into the ground. Erwin swung back down from a low branch, sliding backwards on his feet and one hand through the leaves, breaking his fall. He quickly sensed a presence behind him and spun around to find a soldier in a wide stance, ready to punch fire right into his face. He crossed his arms in front of him quickly to shield himself, closed his eyes, and braced for the heat—but no fire came towards him. He opened his eyes to see a figure standing on top of the knocked out soldier on the ground.

“Trying to act all fancy with your swords is pitiful, Eyebrows.” Levi reached his hand out towards Erwin lying on the ground. Erwin closed his eyes, and smiled softly. “God, you’re the worst.” They grabbed each other’s hands, and Levi helped him up with a smug look on his face. Hearing muffled yelling coming from the center of camp, they turned their attention towards it.

“I got it!” Moblit leaped out of the tent, with a backpack filled to the brim with scrolls and papers. He laughed, wearing a huge grin on his face. “Can’t catch me stupid!” Four soldiers came running out of the tent to chase after him. Moblit ran further into the forest luring them in. When he reached the right spot, he jumped and sprung forward as far as he could over the pile of leaves below him. He pushed forward smoothly through the air using his core to propel himself further. He gently landed on his feet, and turned to look back at his pursuers. He smiled and waved. Before they could blast fire towards him, they fell into the pit trap set under the pile of leaves. Moblit laughed heartily. Satisfied, he began whistling happily and turned around, smacking right into a tall soldier. Startled, he backed up nervously, and the soldier grabbed him by the collar and shoved him to the ground. “You brat, I’ll be killed if we lose those documents. So hand them over!”

Emerging from the mess of leaves above, Levi jumped down between Moblit and the soldier. The soldier threw fire at Levi with each blow, but Levi swiftly dodged every single punch thrown, the flames just missing Levi each time. He tripped the soldier to the ground with a swift kick to the ankles, but the soldier was much larger than him, and spun over, pinning Levi under him. Levi was overpowered, and froze in fright—he was in real trouble, and there was no way Moblit could help overtake the guy. The soldier punched Levi in the face, the pain shaking Levi to his very core. He tried to wriggle himself out of the man's grip, but he laid on the floor helpless. 

“Yahooooo!” A figure swung from rope attached high into the trees, releasing its grip, and spun feet first into the soldier’s head, rattling his skull against his own helmet. He kicked upwards, the blaze just barely making contact with his target. “Ouch, you burned me ya big oaf!” As soon as the flame dissipated, the figure’s hands gripped the man’s ankle and used all of its weight and momentum to throw the him forward, right into the trap, falling right on top of his fellow soldiers below. 

“AHA!”

“Oh great,” Levi thought, the vein in his forehead popping up against his skin in annoyance.

“I win, Levi!” Hange exclaimed with a huge grin on her face. She pulled her goggles upward and wiped the sweat from her brow, approaching Levi with a smug look on her face. “That didn’t count, I was almost done with that guy!" Levi retorted. “Ahhh sure you were,” Hange teased. She approached him, lowering her face just inches in front of his, the fire in her eyes burning in excitement. “But we both know I just saved your sorry ass from being pummeled to a pulp!” Levi scowled and looked away in response to her annoyingly bubbly expression. She laughed and grabbed Levi, pulling him into her tight embrace, his face squished against her chest. As irritated as he was, Levi couldn’t help but let the corners of his mouth pull up into a soft smile. She raised her other hand, pointing up into the air and yelled: “I win today, everybody! Fire nation soldier count is 20!” Her happy yelling and laughter echoed through the forest. She looked down at Levi’s face. 

“Did you see me, Levi? I took out six soldiers at once!”

“Tch, no, I was a bit busy as you could probably guess,” Levi retorted.

“Aw man, no one ever sees!” Hange pouted. 

“Hey, well I got the documents we needed, so I’m the real winner here, Hange,” Moblit whined. Hange smiled lovingly at her brother and gestured him over towards her. She grabbed him with her free arm, pulling him into a hug with her and Levi.

“You three mushy idiots make me want to puke.” Mike walked up to them, followed by Nanaba and Erwin. “Come on, all of them are trapped or subdued for now, let’s see what other supplies we might find useful.”

The 6 friends rummaged through the tents gathering what they could. Nanaba cared for the ostrich-horses, rounding them together, knowing they’d be perfect to give to some of the nearby villages who needed them. While Erwin searched through the supplies, he suddenly heard devious laughter coming from one of the nearby tents and quietly entered. He found Mike and Hange hovering over a pile of crates in the corner. Erwin sighed deeply, “What did you two find now?” Mike and Hange turned, revealing several cases of sake and grinned back at Erwin. 

“…No.”

“Aw come on, please?” Hange pleaded. “You do know that tomorrow is the anniversary of when the shrimp joined us, right?” Mike asked. Erwin smiled softly, “Can’t believe it’s been three years since then, huh?” Hange pouted and looked at Erwin, “We can celebrate with these! Come on Erwin, let’s help Levi let loose and celebrate!” Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose, irritated at their persistence, but he couldn’t help but give in whenever Hange looked at him like that. 

“Fine.” 

“YES!” Hange and Mike exclaimed, high-fiving each other. 

“Not all of it, though! That’s literally to supply that whole troop of soldiers, leave some of it, okay?” Hange and Mike continued to laugh as they gathered what they could. Erwin knew they weren’t listening.

Outside, Levi and Moblit were knee deep into the soldiers’ supply wagon, neutralizing the explosives the soldiers sequestered inside. Levi was always amazed at the feats Hange and Moblit could achieve when they put their minds together. From the last troop they ransacked, the two of them analyzed the explosives' contents and quickly figured a way to neutralize it, making them completely useless. Moblit and Levi quietly poured the neutralizing concoction over the weapons until all was safe. “Thanks, Levi, I think that’s all of it.” Levi held back a smile. He couldn’t believe Moblit’s voice had dropped so low—he was growing up. Moblit left the wagon, and Levi was left alone sitting in his thoughts.

He couldn’t believe it’s been three years since he joined the Scouts, and he couldn’t lie to himself—he’s the happiest he’s been in his entire life. Sure it was rough at first, adjusting to new forms of combat and being quite embarrassed going from high ranking firebender to a complete dud at a new fighting style. Needless to say, he was the weakest of the Scouts for quite awhile. Suppressing his penchant for bending wasn’t easy either, and there were a few close calls, but he successfully hid it, overall. But Levi did notice something with how the Scouts taught him to fight, and he began to understand why they were so powerful. 

He kicked himself for not listening more closely at the time, but he recalled his Uncle Kenny telling him about how different bending styles could influence the way you fought. Something about being able to incorporate strategies like evasion to turn enemies against themselves like the airbenders, or lying solid in wait for the right time to strike like an earthbender--and that he should use those skills with his own firebending. But of course, Kenny never actually _taught_ him anything. He just spewed these words to him while he was drunk. Levi shook his head, annoyed at those memories. 

Regardless, over the past 3 years, Levi noticed that those themes seemed to manifest in his friends—Moblit being light on his feet, almost acrobatic-like, similar to an airbender, Erwin’s smooth movements using his swords as an extension of himself like how a waterbender utilizes water. Mike and Nanaba were skilled rangers, but fought solid and low like earthbenders in hand-to-hand combat. As for Hange, she oddly fought very similar to him—just as a skilled firebender would. He couldn’t help but wonder if they fought like this on purpose. He never really thought to ask. But with them believing in that Avatar crap, it didn’t seem too far off of an idea. 

Levi knew these thoughts were pretty insignificant, because all that really mattered in the end was that they were good in combat in order to fulfill their duties... but he couldn’t help but mull over it after all this time. However, improving his combat skills wasn’t the only thing he gained in 3 years. He grew, and was no longer the same person he was before. He was satisfied with what he’s become and the relationships he fostered. He never really had too many friends he cared for growing up in the fire nation, and he certainly did not trust anyone as much as he does the Scouts. Nor did he ever think he could feel so strongly for one person—

“Hey, Levi,” Hange said softly as she stood behind him, and crouched down, resting her chin gently on top of Levi’s head, breaking him out of his thoughts. She took her hands and gently pulled up on the corners of Levi’s mouth. “Let’s turn that frown upside down!” She happily snickered at her own joke, and Levi rolled his eyes. “Everything’s all set—you ready to head back?”

His eyes softened at the sound of her voice. “Yeah, I’m ready,” Levi replied with a tinge of endearment in his voice.

—————

The Scouts, joined by their guests, Jean and Sasha, sat around the small fire pit in their common space up in the trees. The warm glow of the fire flickered, illuminating all the friends in the room, casting dancing shadows on the walls. Laughter and talk filled the little room, all of them happily enjoying each other’s company. From the information Moblit stole from the camp, they knew that it was some sort of holiday for the Fire Nation and all the troops were to be off duty for a whole week, so they could all finally sit back and breathe for a bit. 

Levi sat, contently watching everyone engage with each other. He watched Moblit, Jean, and Sasha laughing together, Hange excitedly talking to Nanaba about whatever was on her mind, Mike and Erwin standing both with their arms crossed, Mike chuckling at whatever Erwin was muttering to him. His eyes looked over the room happily, until they inevitably drifted towards Hange. As always, he was entranced by her energy, and found himself staring at her intensely as he watched the campfire reflect off her big brown eyes, like pools of honey shining beautifully in the flickering light. 

Erwin sat down next to Levi, and gave him a friendly punch to the shoulder, startling him. “Levi, here.” He slipped two small pieces of paper into Levi’s hand. “The hell are these, Eyebrows?” 

“I found them in one of the soldiers’ tents. They’re two tickets to a festival somewhere in Ba Sing Se.” Erwin gestured towards Hange. “I know you want to ask her, so go,” he said with a small smile. “What do you mean, why would I want to drag four-eyes all the way to Ba Sing—“ Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose, saying, “Levi, dear God, we all know. Just ask her or I’ll do it for you.” He kicked Levi in the shin, prompting him to make his move. Levi glared back at him, and as soon as Levi turned around to leave, Erwin balled his hands into fists in triumph—he just won the year long bet the rest of the Scouts had on who could finally convince Levi to ask out Hange first. 

“Oi, four-eyes.” As Levi approached, Nanaba took the opportunity to leave the two of them alone and help Mike with the boxes he was carrying. Levi was at a complete loss for words as she cheerfully stared into his eyes, waiting for him to speak. He grunted and shoved the tickets into Hange’s hands. She looked down at the slips of paper and Levi saw intense flames of excitement grow in her eyes. “Oh Levi! You know I’ve always wanted to see inside the walls of Ba Sing Se! Of course I’ll come with you.” She hugged him tightly, and Levi let himself melt into her arms. Suddenly, she let go and pushed him backwards, both hands laying atop his shoulders. “And hey, Mike and I have a surprise for you,” she said with a goofy grin on her face. 

Mike and Nanaba set the boxes on the floor at the side of the room, and cracked open the lids. Inside lay several bottles of sake. The two of them smirked at Levi—causing Levi to go completely red in the face. “You guys know I don’t really drink…” Nanaba grabbed Levi’s shoulder. “Come on short-stack, you need to let loose! And it’s indeed a special night for all of us—for you! Well, you know why!” Levi sighed, and clearly held back a smile. They all knew that was him raising his white flag in defeat. Erwin walked over and grabbed some bottles, tossing one over to each of them.

While they were all talking, Moblit approached from behind, and sneakily snatched a bottle from one of the crates. He scurried out to join Jean and Sasha sitting together outside the hut, leaning on the railings and dangling their legs off the edge of the deck. “Yes!” Sasha yelled, and they excitedly poured themselves three glasses of sake. They clinked glasses happily, but before they could take a sip, they each felt a blow to the back of their heads.

“Underage!” 

“Hey!” the three yelled simultaneously. 

Mike snatched the bottle, and poured the contents of their glasses over the edge of the railing, the sounds of the alcohol echoing off the forest floor below. “Aw, come on Mike!” Moblit whined. “You three have to wait til you’re of age, like the rest of us did,” Mike teased. He laughed and walked back towards the rest of the Scouts, leaving the three of them inches away from throwing a childish tantrum right then and there. “Maaaan, what are we gonna do now?” Sasha sighed. 

—————

A few more hours into the night, the three of them looked up from the card game they were playing and couldn’t help but stifle laughter as they peered inside the hut, seeing Erwin, Mike, Nanaba, Hange, and Levi all completely red in the face, fumbling around like idiots. 

Nanaba smacked her hand atop Levi’s head. “On this night, 3 years ago, this little guy right here joined us…” Normally, Levi would scowl immediately at Nanaba calling him “little guy” but the alcohol coursing through his veins told him to let it slide. “…And wow I did not expect to care at all about this gloomy moron!” She patted him on the back and raised her glass. 

“Yeah who knew this tiny clean-freak would actually keep up with us?” Mike added while taking another swig at his bottle. “Yes, we’ve made markedly huge improvements in our success rate against the fire nation with Levi on our team,” Erwin replied. 

Hange gave Erwin two thumbs down. “Booooooo! You’re so boring Erwin, come on, tell Levi how much you actually care about your friendship!” She drunkenly stumbled forward and squeezed Erwin’s cheeks with both of her hands. “Come on ya big softie!” Erwin raised his bottle into the air and yelled out, his voice muffled by Hange squeezing his cheeks together, “To Levi!” Hange turned around and locked eyes with Levi, a devious grin slowly spreading across her face. 

“Oh my God no, Hange please,” Levi, his words spilling slowly out of his mouth, as he was quite intoxicated. But, his mind was clear enough to know exactly what she was thinking and he braced for impact. Hange jumped and tackled him playfully to the ground, while Nanaba, Mike, and Erwin piled on top of him. Levi was numb from the alcohol, but he knew this would hurt tomorrow. However, he couldn’t help but let out a genuine laugh that rung brightly through the forest. The other four were scared silent for a few seconds. Was that the sound of Levi… laughing? 

After a few moments, they all broke out in a fit of laughter, drunkenly ecstatic to hear their beloved shorty finally let loose a little.

“God, they’re so weird,” Jean muttered, smiling to himself. He looked at Levi, and all the Scouts teasing him—it was clear how close they’ve all gotten over the past 3 years. He was a man of his word, and he kept his promise to Levi and never told anyone about his secret. Jean felt relief overcome him, like showers of rain washing him clean. It seemed he made the right decision, and he was quite thankful it worked out.

—————  
Later into the night, the commotion among the older Scouts finally fell silent. Jean and Sasha walked back inside to find them nearly all passed out on the floor, and the room reeked with the piercing stench of alcohol. “What a mess,” Sasha giggled. She helped Nanaba up and guided her back to her quarters. Jean struggled trying to drag Mike and Erwin’s huge, limp bodies and gave up to look for blankets and pillows—it’d be easier to just leave them where they lay.

Levi was a lot more put together than the rest of them, and he looked at Hange lying on the floor, her eyes closed, with a hint of a smile on plastered on her face. He picked her up and held her in his arms, pulling her close against his chest, and carried her back to their room. He carefully laid her down onto her sleeping mat, and pulled a blanket over her. He went through the motions, gently sliding the glasses off her face, and tucked the loose locks of hair around her ear—it was basically routine for him at this point. 

“Ugh why don’t you just marry her already.” Levi spun around to see Moblit sitting in the corner, reading the book in his hand. He looked at Levi, pointed at his mouth and made retching gestures. 

Levi missed the cute little Moblit he used to know, now replaced by the rude, angsty teenager sitting in front of him. He walked up to Moblit and pointed out the door of the hut, saying, “Hey what’s that?” Moblit leaned forward to peer outside, and Levi grabbed his book and threw it out over the railing, both of them hearing the distant thud of it hitting the forest floor. Moblit groaned loudly as Levi ruffled his hair, and he got up to go retrieve his fallen book. 

Levi made his way up to his usual spot at the looking post to stare up at the endlessly starry sky above the trees—another one of his routines developed over the past 3 years. He smiled, excited for his day with Hange tomorrow. His face felt warm, and he chuckled to himself, unsure if it was from the alcohol or from his anticipation. He then reflexively reached into his pocket to feel his mother’s luck charm, but, his pocket was empty. He sobered up immediately, and jumped up in a crazed panic, looking all over the floorboards for it. “No, no no…” he chanted in his head, desperately looking for the one thing he had left of his mother. He slid down the railings. Deeply distraught, he wildly swung down the tree branches, and hit the leaf-ridden dirt floor, and ran towards the fire nation camp they ransacked earlier. 

“Hey where are you going??” Moblit yelled out at Levi as he picked up his book. “I’ll be back, Moblit, don't worry!” 

Levi pushed through the bushes, branches, and vines, which whipped at him as he ran, scratching up his skin enough to draw blood—but he didn't care. He reached the area of the camp, and it was eerily silent. “Seems like someone helped them out, or they figured a way to escape,” he thought. Either way, the area was completely deserted, so he began to search the ground. After what felt like forever, he saw a small glint of light flash out the corner of his eye. He rushed to the spot, and found it, glowing against the moonlight that penetrated through the mess of leaves above him. He breathed a sigh of relief, and held the charm tight in his hand, unconsciously tracing the outline of the fire emblem on it. He stood up preparing himself to walk back, when he suddenly heard a rustle of leaves ahead. He looked up with caution, his eyes darting around his surroundings, and he felt himself lowering into a fighting stance. A small meadow vole crawled out from beneath the bushes, and Levi relaxed. “No need to worry,” he thought as he watched the small animal scurry away back into the bushes. He took a last look around for any movement, and when he felt the coast was clear, he turned around to make his way back. 

Upon his return, he entered their room, and saw Hange, Moblit, Jean, and Sasha, all peacefully asleep on the floor. He drowsily slid underneath his warm blanket and let the comforting sound of Hange’s snores lull him to sleep. 

—————  
Under the gentle heat of the afternoon sun, Levi and Hange approached the ferry docks leading to the city. Levi knew he had to keep up with the lie that he was from Ba Sing Se—luckily he still had a pass to enter from when he lived there undercover with his uncle many years ago. He truly hated that he had to keep his past life a secret from Hange, but it couldn’t be helped. He left that life behind him, and he didn’t need to give any of his friends a reason to distrust him. 

He handed the pass to the woman behind the counter, and prayed that it would work. “Get onto boat number three,” she said in a bored monotone, pointing down the pathway to her right. Levi breathed a sigh of relief. Luck seemed to be on his side today—he felt in his pocket and instinctively traced around his mother’s charm. “Oh Levi, I’m so excited! I’ve always wanted to see inside!” Hange was so giddy with excitement, that people started to stare. “Oi, calm down four-eyes, people are looking.”

“Aw, you big grump, you’re just embarrassed to be seen with someone as enthralling as me!” Levi rolled his eyes, and gently pushed her forward onto the boat, insisting she sit down. Throughout the both the ferry and train rides to the inner walls, Hange leaned forward, looking wide-eyed at everything she saw, taking notes and sketching into her small notebook as much as she could. She simultaneously babbled on about any history she knew about the city to him, while Levi sat calmly next to her, his arms crossed and eyes closed, relaxing at the sound of her voice. It put him at ease, so much so that he even dozed off a bit at the end of their trip. He woke up to Hange squeezing his shoulder, happily announcing their arrival. 

They explored a hefty section of the inner wall where citizens set up for the night festival—Hange went on and on about the history of the architecture in the city as they walked the grey cobblestone paths swirling around the city. Levi followed close behind Hange, who constantly ran up to different shops, excitedly pointing things out to him every few minutes. She also made sure to buy a few medicinal items and supplies to bring back and work on replicating with Moblit, dropping them into Levi’s backpack. The sun shined a tranquil, orange glow as it set lower and lower in the sky, until the cool night fell upon the city around them. Before they knew it, all the paper lanterns laced around the buildings on every street were lit, illuminating the bleak streets with light. Hange stepped backwards towards Levi, and they stood back-to-back admiring the sight—neither of them had seen anything like this since they were little kids. Levi instinctively reached back trying to find her hand to interlace his fingers with hers, but before he could do so, he felt Hange grab his other wrist tightly. “Come on, let’s go check out the festival, Levi!” She excitedly pulled him forward, both of them sprinting through the beautifully lit streets together. 

More lights glowed around the open square illuminating stalls ridden with customers. Their ears were met with the sounds of stringed instruments playing by a fancy restaurant one way, and the beating of drums playing for some kind of performance the other way. Levi and Hange felt the rhythm of the drums shaking within their chests, almost as if it was forcing their hearts to beat in sync, and it felt as though their two hearts became intertwined. Their chests swelled with excitement, and they continued to check out everything. 

Levi couldn’t remember the last time he was surrounded by this many people. He usually found this to be a nuisance, but watching Hange aflame with cheerful energy watching the little kids running around with masks throwing down bang snaps at each other’s feet, giggling—he really couldn’t get enough of it. After they finished the food they bought from the stalls and peeked at all the fun, handcrafted items being sold, they sat on the edge of a fountain sitting in the middle of the square. 

Hange gently touched Levi’s hand saying, “Hey Levi, I dragged you everywhere I wanted to go for most of today, so I wanted to ask…was there any place that you wanted to see before we head home?”

—————  
The two sat face-to-face in a small tea shop, calmly sipping their piping hot drinks, melting into the peaceful atmosphere of the room, the lively sounds of the festival muffled behind the curtains at the front door. A boy with a large burn scar encompassing the entire left side of his face approached their table, quietly poured each of them more tea, bowed, and walked away. Hange leaned towards Levi and whispered, “Hey Shorty, that kid looked just as gloomy as you! You should have a contest over who could make a small child cry using just your scowls alone!” She stifled laughter, so much so that tears welled up around her eyes, and when Levi instinctively scowled at her joke, it made her laugh even more. After letting her calm down from her fits of giggles, Levi gave her a blank look and stood up, sliding his chair behind him. He placed a tip down on the table, and reached for Hange’s wrist, leading her out of the shop. “Come on, there’s one more place I wanted to take you before we leave.” 

Levi hoped the secret passageway he found all those years ago still worked—he was surprised he even remembered the location at all. But he did spend a lot of time alone there when he was living here. They turned around the familiar street towards a dead-end. He took a deep breath, and pressed a loose brick on the wall, and slowly, a section of bricks pushed inward like a door. Once again, Levi felt relief wash over him—luck really was his friend today. “Levi what is thi—“ He took Hange’s hand and walked down the winding stairwell, as the bricks clicked back together, closing the wall behind them. As they descended the dark steps, a green glow gradually grew brighter.

They reached the bottom of the steps, and Hange couldn’t believe her eyes—there before her was a seemingly endless cave harboring giant green masses of quartz crystals sprawled throughout the dirt floor and entwined within the rock walls and ceilings. "Absolutely fascinating," Hange thought, struck with awe knowing that this beautiful expanse of nature was all but hidden underneath the huge, bustling city above them. The sweet sound of rushing water lapping at the dirt floor echoed through every inch of their surroundings, calming all of her senses. It was so overwhelmingly beautiful, that Hange had to remind herself to breathe. She felt Levi’s hand find hers, intertwining his fingers with her own, his warmth radiating into her palm. She smiled softly at his touch, and kept quiet as he led her down the uneven stone path following the small river. The stone path gradually became finer underneath their feet, until they found their shoes sinking in sand. They looked ahead towards the breathtaking view of a small lake in front of them, the moon reflecting off the small currents, light glistening before them, mimicking the same beautiful glow of the crystal cave. 

They sat in the soft sand together admiring the view. Levi was quite satisfied—he’s never seen Hange at a loss for words, and he took it as a victorious win in his book. After a few more moments of silence, Hange spoke. 

“Hey Shorty, thank you for this,” and from the corner of his eye, he watched happy tears stream down her cheeks. “I haven’t been to a festival, or had a beautiful experience such as this since I was just a kid, when my parents were still alive.” Levi’s eyes softened at her words—they’ve never spoken to each other about their childhood before. “Sorry four-eyes, I didn’t know.”

She leaned against him, nestling her head perfectly into the curve of his shoulder. “It’s okay, Levi. It’s in the past.” She slid her head to look up at him and smiled warmly, “I hope you know how much I love you, Levi.”

Her words struck him by surprise, and Levi suddenly forgot how to breathe. His face reddened almost immediately, and he snatched Hange’s glasses off of her face—he didn’t want her to see the stupid smile forming on his lips. “Hey, that’s no way to answer someone who finally mustered up the courage to confess their love to you!” She laughed and looked back towards the waves. “Nanaba coaxed me into telling you, but I want you to know that it’s truly how I feel.” Levi couldn’t find the words to respond, though he knew deep in his heart that he felt the same way—but it didn’t feel right to say it when she didn’t know the truth about his past. 

“It’s okay, Levi. I wanted to tell you, and honestly, I didn’t expect an answer in return. And nothing you say could ever change the way I feel about you.” Levi melted at her words, and wanted to tell her everything. But, he was afraid she would never look at him the same if she found out who he was. “Hange, I—“ 

“No, Levi, you don’t have to say it back! Let’s just enjoy the view, okay?” She smiled up at him and rested her head back onto his shoulder. Maybe he’d tell her eventually—she deserved at least that from him after all this time, he thought. But that was a problem for another day. Instead, he gave in to her words and pulled her close, planting a small kiss on her temple. In just a few minutes, they gradually dozed off, listening to the lull of the small waves push and pull over the sand. 

—————  
Levi woke up suddenly—maybe an hour passed? He looked at the watch in his backpack. It was midnight, so definitely time to head back. He gently woke Hange with a quick poke at her cheek, and they made their way out of Ba Sing Se, Hange leaning sleepily against him holding his hand for the entire walk. 

The two rode their ostrich-horses towards the forests, the need for sleep written in their eyes—they had a quite eventful night, and they were ready to happily rest back home. However, as they rode closer to the forests, they noticed a subtle, eerie, orange glow radiating from the center trees of the forest, the beginnings of black smoke swirling upwards into the night sky. The sight wiped away all hints of drowsiness instantly. They looked at each other, both harboring an unsettling fear in their eyes, and plunged forward at full sprint.

Reaching the edge of the forest, they leaped off the ostrich horses they rode, and darted straight inside. Levi’s mind raced with questions, the words zipping fast around his brain. “Was this just a forest fire? Or did someone do this on purpose? I thought the fire nation troops were on holiday? Or was this the doing of one person? No…” Levi swallowed with fear. “It couldn’t be. There’s absolutely no way...”

The flames and smoke took over the familiar stretch of trees, and the two ran at top speed, pushing through the foliage relentlessly until they reached a clearing. 

Upon the scene presented before their eyes, Hange and Levi stared, trembling—completely frozen where they stood. 

Erwin, Mike, and Nanaba were each tied up with rope, all lying unconscious on the ground, wounds and bruises manifesting themselves on their skin, their weapons strewn all around the forest floor far from their reach. And... a familiar figure leaned against the tree directly behind them.

“Hey there, nephew. Why don’t you greet your dear, old uncle? It’s been 3 years since you last, I don’t know… turned on me?” Kenny laughed. “Thanks for leading us to these guys, Levi, what a nice present to grace us with upon your return!” Levi stood at a loss for words. He couldn’t wrap his head around what was currently unfolding in front of him.

Then, out from the smoke, a tall, bespectacled, blonde man emerged. The flames all around them began to cast dancing shadows upon his frame, and all they could make out was the sheen of his glasses, and the maniacal grin strewn across his face. 

“We meet again, Hange _Zoe_ ,” General Zeke announced, sending chills down Hange and Levi’s spines. 

Hange finally mustered up the courage to break their silence, and yelled desperately, tears streaming fast down her face, “…Where’s Moblit?!”

Zeke chuckled to himself, “Oh don’t worry, Miss Zoe, we wouldn’t hurt a precious firebender. Hm… or would we now?”

Hange blinked the tears from her eyes, “He doesn’t bend, you idiot! Where is he??” she demanded. Levi was still in a daze, unable to comprehend Zeke’s words. All he knew was that he felt the shaking anger in Hange’s voice, her low tone—she seemed like a completely different person when she grew angry, but this... this was a new level of anger Levi never witnessed before. She was almost unrecognizable.

“Oh I see, so the heir… the legacy of the great Zoe family, is left solely to the likes of you? AND, even better, the great heir has befriended the weak, pathetic, Levi _Ackerman_? Hah, that’s precious!”

At those words, Levi looked to Hange for her reaction, and his eyes immediately widened in utter shock.

Hange had a crazy, wild look in her eyes, one that struck Levi with genuine fear. She lowered herself carefully facing towards General Zeke, taking on a very specific fighting stance, one that was all-too-familiar to Levi. Out from both palms, he watched embers form into concentrated flames in both of her hands, a fire so strong he could feel the heat from where he stood.

‘H-Hange, you’re… a firebender?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) hope this was a fun read!


	4. The Fire from the Shadows

“H-Hange… you’re a firebender?” 

Levi fell to his knees, holding his head in his hands.

His brain was at sensory overload—he couldn’t believe any of it. Hange stood just a few steps in front of him, holding flames so powerful he could hear them, a low rumble resonating from her fingertips. 

Hange turned her head slightly towards Levi, but did not allow her eyes to stray from General Zeke. She whispered softly, Levi barely making out her words in the chaos, “I’m sorry, Levi. This is not how I planned for you to find out.”

More tears welled up around her eyes, but she blinked them away. Leaving regret behind her, she lashed forward towards Zeke in a silent rage. The strength of her fire seemed to startle Zeke a bit, but he resumed his composure quickly. He spun his arms calculatedly, dissipating the embers with each blow she threw. They exchanged kick and block, back and forth, until Zeke was forced to switch to a more defensive approach—Hange’s anger only fueled her baseline power, and she began to take the advantage. 

Zeke started to speak as they exchanged blows, in an attempt to distract Hange and regain the upper hand. “To think you’re still holding onto hope that you could actually enact your revenge on me? It’s too bad I didn’t kill you when I had the chance.” 

His painful words unlocked the small box she kept closed and hidden in the deep recesses of her heart, and memories of her parents unleashed from within. She spent so much energy keeping these memories stowed away. But now, her ears rang with flashbacks of her mother’s screams and the feeling of her father shaking her by the shoulders, desperately telling her to grab Moblit and run. 

Between tired breaths, Zeke continued to spew words at Hange as they fought, “You’re just a dying fire, alone in the shadows of the fire nation. It’s too bad that you didn’t get to hear your parents’ last words.”Hange gritted her teeth as she dealt with the emotional pain of the past being carved out of her. She plunged forward at Zeke, throwing punches faster than ever in her rage, but Zeke kept up with her.

“They believed in you at that time, a small 12 year old girl, and entrusted you with their useless plans and hopes for a balanced world—they simply couldn’t accept the great feats and plans of the fire nation. A childish dream they had, really.”

Hange was boiling with anger. 

“Don’t worry, Hange Zoe. I killed them quick—it was quite pitiful to watch them think that a small child could live up to the traitorous successes of the Zoe family.”

He laughed coolly, seeing his words chip away at Hange’s resolve. But Hange was stronger than he could ever know, and she shook Zeke’s comments from her mind, wiping away the emotions threatening her sanity, tossing them aside to be dealt with later. 

Heat radiated from the battle, only adding to the fire within the forest—Hange knew she’d have to do something soon before the fire burned down everything, and all her friends with it. Before she could come up with a solution, just behind Zeke she saw Captain Kenny jump up onto his armored Komodo rhino, and on there with him, a limp body—she recognized the dirty blonde hair immediately, and she lost her composure for a second. 

“Moblit!” She yelled out in desperation, her scream echoing throughout the forest. 

Zeke took her distraction as his opportunity to escape—he conjured up a massive burst of flame, the force big enough to propel Hange back several feet. And with that, he disappeared, leaving a mess of embers in the trees, and flaming branches began to fall. Hange sat still on the ground, straining to see or hear anything. Faintly, she made out the sound of 2 Komodo rhinos beginning to stomp away, and she knew they were retreating with Moblit. The forest fire would definitely delay their escape, but still, she didn’t have a lot of time, not enough time to explain…

She looked back at Levi, who was still frozen on the ground with his head in his hands, and Hange felt nothing but hurt and guilt in her heart—but Moblit was in danger. These feelings would also have to wait. She scrambled to get up and ran over to Levi. “Hey Shorty, are you with me??” She shook him by the shoulders, but there was no response. She couldn’t blame him, this was an extreme amount of new information for anyone to take in all at once. 

“H-Hange?”

Hange spun around to see Erwin, still injured and laying on the ground, regaining consciousness. She took another look at Levi whose eyes were still glazed in his stupor, and rushed over to Erwin, crouching low beside him.

Levi simply accepted his inability to wrap his head around the current situation. He tried to move but his limbs felt like heavy weights sunken into the forest floor. He could only manage to watch Hange fight Zeke, and now he stared blankly at Hange and Erwin. 

He emptily watched Hange sputtering words as fast she could to Erwin, and he could tell that Erwin did not agree to whatever she was saying. Levi had never seen his calculating blue eyes so hurt and upset—Erwin burrowed his forehead into the leaves on the ground and gritted his teeth in frustration. Suddenly, he turned his head and locked eyes with Levi. 

“LEVI!” He yelled with the little energy he could muster. 

Erwin’s determined gaze and his desperate tone of voice immediately snapped Levi out of his confusion, as though a shock reset the gears in his head. He knew exactly what Erwin meant—Levi did not forget the promise he made to both Erwin and himself 3 years ago. 

Levi finally stood up, his mind as clear as ever and walked to the space between where Hange was crouched down and where Zeke and Kenny made their escape.

“Levi?”

He stared back at her with a fierce scowl on his face. She stood up and attempted to run past him, but he shoved her back. Hange grew angry, “Levi, you have to let me go, I have to get Moblit back!”

“I know, but you can’t go alone! I won’t let you, we can round up everyone else and come up with a plan.”

“No Levi, there’s no time! I have to follow them NOW. I don’t know what they’ll do to him, and I have to find out where they’re going!” 

“I won’t let you go alone.” He stood his ground confidently. 

“Levi, I have to do this on my own. This is my fight, and...I can’t risk losing the rest of you. I couldn’t live with myself if something were to happen to you.”

Levi shook his head “Well then you leave me no choice.” He positioned himself in a low stance, ready to fight her. “And Hange, I have to tell you…I can—" 

“Firebend? Levi, I’m sorry to throw one more curveball at you, but... I’ve known that since the day I met you.”

“Wait, wha—“

In his shock, Levi let his guard down for just a second, and Hange took her chance. She jumped and flipped forward to kick Levi down—but Levi brought up his arms to block it just in time. They fought, both exhibiting quick, skilled movements and precise bursts of flames at each other. Their abilities were quite evenly matched and their fight looked almost like a dance—fire spiraling together, powerful flames sparking blue with each clash, movements so precise it seemed choreographed. And in a strange way, Levi and Hange felt that they were almost communicating through their fight, their hearts racing in sync. It was as if they could understand what each other was feeling without words, just fire and exchanged punches. 

Levi and Hange both felt a pull at the corners of their mouths—their fight almost made them want to smile. They both felt so alive, their true selves laid out on the table, fighting with the skills that came naturally to them… finally admitting their long withheld secret to each other. It was like a breath of fresh air. 

But Hange broke away from this trance remembering full well why they were fighting in the first place, and she soon overpowered Levi, pinning him to the ground under her knees. She held her right hand above him threateningly, concentrated embers coating her fingers. “Levi, listen to me carefully. You and Erwin have to get Mike and Nanaba out of here, right now.”

A large, flaming branch, crashed down just a few feet from them.

“Now, Levi! You have to get them all out of here safely, while I get Moblit. When you’re all safe, rest, and if I don’t return in 48 hours, I’ll let you play hero and run after me, okay?” She said the last few words with a hollow smile, stifling her worries down just for that moment.

Levi opened his mouth to argue as he saw through her facade, but he fell silent as Hange retracted the embers in her hand, balled it into a fist, and gently tapped his chest right over his heart. “I trust you, Levi.” She quickly stood up and ran after Zeke and Kenny. Levi began to follow behind her, and Hange pushed a huge blast of fire, creating a physical wall of flames between her and Levi.

“I told you not to follow right now, go help our friends!” She yelled playfully from the other side of the wall. Levi gritted his teeth in annoyance, and turned around to help Erwin up so they could carry Mike and Nanaba’s limp bodies out of the forest. 

“Hange!” Erwin screamed, his eyes wild in worry over her. “Levi, why didn’t you stop her??” he yelled desperately. Levi suppressed the rising guilt inside him, and shoved Erwin forward towards Mike. “We have to get them out now, Erwin!” Erwin held his tongue, and followed Levi’s orders. As much as he wanted to run after Hange and as angry as he was with Levi, he wasn’t stupid—he was in no shape to follow her, and if they didn’t get out of the forest now, they’d definitely be burned alive. Levi grabbed Nanaba and propped her up on his back, and Erwin did the same with Mike. They ran as fast as they could, avoiding the falling branches. As they reached the final stretches of the forest, rain began to fall, dousing the flames in the trees—Levi felt his mother’s charm in his pocket, and wondered if she was watching over them as the rain gradually tried to heal the burning forest.

In the last stretch of trees, Levi watched as a huge branch tumbled down from high, right above Erwin and Mike. “Erwin!” Levi moved instinctively, he placed Nanaba down as quick and gently as he could, and ran towards Erwin, shoving him out of harm’s way, but it was too late for him. Levi heard the rustle of leaves above him, and the branch crashed right on top of him. Then, his vision went black. 

———

Levi gradually regained consciousness, but he didn’t open his eyes just yet. Memories of the night before slowly inched into his thoughts. 

“Was I dreaming?” 

Levi held his breath, straining to listen for Hange’s snores, the strangely endearing yet familiar sound that he woke up to every day for the past three years. But sadly, the only thing he could hear was the sound of leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. 

“So, it was all real then, huh,” he thought. 

Levi slowly opened his eyes, blinking his vision into focus. From the position of the sun in the sky, Levi figured it was probably early afternoon—he’d been out for awhile. He was suddenly aware of how sore he was as he craned his neck to the side. He looked forward to see Erwin sitting on the ground a few feet in front of him, his head in his hands looking straight at the ground. Levi was unable to read his blank stare. 

“Awake?” Erwin asked under his breath.

Levi sat up, moving gingerly. He nodded in response.

“Do you remember everything from last night?” Erwin asked quietly.

Levi hung his head down and pinched the bridge of his nose. He still hasn’t made sense of it all. “Yes… I do,” Levi replied. 

“Okay, just making sure.”

Suddenly, Erwin grabbed Levi by the collar, and shoved him, pinning him to the ground. Levi saw a crazed look in Erwin’s eyes, and felt a head-rattling punch to his left cheek. His head throbbed, and he felt his body being pulled up by his shirt, and found himself staring directly into Erwin’s cold, blue eyes. 

“We trusted you!” Erwin yelled, and punched Levi a second time in the same spot. Pain shook Levi to his core. “Hange trusted you, Mike, Nanaba, Moblit… even I trusted you! What did the last three years even mean to you??” He continued to punch Levi and yell in his face. Levi was still too weak to fight back from the events of last night, and was unable to wriggle free under Erwin’s weight. 

“And to find out from Kenny that you’re his goddamn nephew? You led them here and now…and now Hange and Moblit are gone!”

“Erwin…” Nanaba said with tears in her eyes. She and Mike approached the two with caution. “Erwin, we don’t know if Kenny lied to us about Levi leading them here.”

Levi coughed up the blood pooling in his mouth from Erwin’s punches, and managed to utter out a few words, “I… didn’t… I—“ Erwin punched him again, “How can we trust anything you say now?? You were a firebender all this time—you lied to us!” Levi felt the guilt building up in his chest, and seeing the tears streaming down Erwin’s face made it even worse. 

But then, Levi felt a surge of rage—what about Hange, why didn’t they tell him she was a firebender? He wasn’t the only one withholding information—what else were they keeping from him?

“Well why didn’t anyone tell me Hange was a firebender?? You’ve been lying to me too!” Levi tried fighting back, thrashing under Erwin.

Erwin didn’t hesitate with his retort—“But ultimately, it was your lies that caused harm—Hange and Moblit’s lives are at stake because of you!” 

These words threw Levi for a loop. “Was it his fault, though? How did Zeke find the Scouts anyway?” Levi searched back into his memories of the past week, wondering if anything recent could have led them here. After a few seconds of thought, he knew:

The charm. 

The rustle of leaves in the bushes. 

It wasn’t the meadow vole. 

Kenny probably checked out the fire nation camp they ransacked earlier, and saw his mother’s luck charm on the ground. 

Levi’s heart clenched in guilt. If he never joined the Scouts, Kenny would have never found them, and none of this would have ever happened—Hange and Moblit would be safe, and half the forest wouldn’t have been destroyed. Levi stopped trying to wriggle free from Erwin’s grasp. 

He felt like he deserved this. 

Nanaba quickly noticed Levi cease struggling. “Erwin, please… stop…” she pleaded.

Levi began to see stars, and felt blood dripping all over his face. Erwin reeled back his fist for another blow, but Mike grabbed him and pulled him away. As Mike restrained him, Erwin noticed something fall out of Levi’s pocket. It looked oddly familiar, and he felt strangely drawn to it.

Levi’s head was throbbing painfully, and he felt the world spinning around him. He then felt Nanaba’s hand cradle the back of his head, which put some of the pain at ease. She quickly brought a cool, wet towel to his face and began to wipe away the blood. He felt her tears drip onto his skin, and his heart wrenched as he looked up at her. “Levi… why didn’t you tell us?” Nanaba asked, her voice shaking as she tended to his wounds. “Nanaba, I’m sorry, I—“

“Hey… where did you get this?” Erwin held Levi’s luck charm in his hand, his expression one of utter disbelief, his voice now calm, yet curious. Levi snarled and snapped up to yank it out of his hand, but Nanaba gently pushed him back to calm him down. Mike and Nanaba took a look at what Erwin was holding. 

Levi muttered to himself, “It’s none of your business.” After a minute of silence, he looked upwards to find Erwin, Mike, and Nanaba staring at him, wearing expressions of shock. 

“What the hell? Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

The 3 of them looked at each other and nodded. They each reached into their pockets, and held out 3 identical charms, each with a fire nation emblem, metal glinting in the low sunlight—exactly like the one his mother gave him. Levi’s jaw dropped--of everything that had happened over the past 12 hours, this might have been the most baffling.

Levi coughed as he sat up, and glared at the 3 of his friends. “Or were they still his friends?” he thought. He honestly didn’t know what to think anymore. 

“Would any of you mind explaining to me... what the hell is happening here?”

———

Hange hid in the shadows of the trees outside a fire nation military base. She surveyed the surroundings—she identified entrance and exit points throughout the perimeter of the walls protecting the soldiers, recruits, and secrets that lay inside. For the size of the compound, there were very few ways in and out of there, she concluded.

“Moblit might be safe for now, when they confirm he isn’t a firebender, but I can’t be too sure—he is a Zoe after all,” she thought. 

She sat up in the branches of one of the trees, hugging her legs close to her, and rested her chin on her knees. “What would Erwin do?” She sighed—the weight she felt on her shoulders was starting to tire her out. 

“What would Levi do?”

Laughing to herself, she thought about the gloomy Shorty trying to explain his plan, but getting frustrated at his inability to verbalize his thoughts more eloquently. The thought gave her a lot of comfort. Not too long ago, they were running through Ba Sing Se together, and she finally admitted that she loved him. She smiled, thinking about how warm his skin was on her cheek, as she laid her head on his shoulder. She couldnt believe how fast their little world shattered in just a few hours. 

She thought back to the night she met him 3 years ago, when she stood from afar, watching him let Jean and the other earthbenders go and turn on Kenny. She happened to be near the village at the time, and saw the fight occur as she helped civilians out to safety. She couldn’t help but feel bad for him, but it seemed to be a fight she wasn’t supposed to be a part of—plus the civilians needed her help. As she ran into burning houses looking for anyone who may have been trapped, she simply hoped the little guy would survive, but she wasn’t sure he would. 

Was it coincidence that as she waited out the storm afterwards, he would stumble into the forest beneath her? Hange wasn’t sure if she really believed in fate, but she was unbelievably thankful that it worked out the way it did. Levi was a good influence on Moblit, on Mike, Nanaba… Erwin. And a good influence on herself—her eyes softened thinking about his stupid cleaning habits and him always trying to comb out and braid the mess of hair on her head, no matter how much she resisted.

She hoped Erwin would find a way to forgive Levi after letting her go. No, she was sure Erwin would find a way to trust Levi again. But she did hope that Levi could at least learn some of the truth before they would reunite. It’d make her facing him after keeping her secrets much easier. 

Ultimately, she trusted those two idiots, and she smiled thinking about them all being together again. 

She jumped up, ready to find Moblit. She wanted to face Zeke and make him pay for what he did all those years ago… but she wanted to prioritize Moblit’s safety first—and maybe even find a way to deal damage to the base, enough to stop fire nation activity for awhile. 

She thought of the positives—if anything went wrong, she knew that the Scouts would find her, and they’d figure out a way to wreak havoc on fire nation plans, just like always. She smiled to herself—she gave Levi the okay to follow her if she didn’t come back soon, after all.

She knew this would be her most difficult mission yet, and there was no more time to waste. She was afraid that she might not even make it out alive, but she shooed away those worries. “Hah, I have to survive to see the poor guy try to say he loves me back.” She stifled the laughter rising inside her—“That’ll be such a treat to watch!”

She shoved her hand into her pocket, and pulled out a small keychain, tracing the fire emblem embossed onto its metal frame with her thumb. She gently pushed the charm up to her lips and kissed it for good luck. “Mom, Dad, I won’t let you down,” she whispered quietly into the small piece of metal. She leaped down from the tree, and made her way towards the base. 

———

She turned into hallway after hallway—her head was spinning as she coursed through the giant maze. She made mental note of the number and direction of turns, hoping she’d remember how to get back out. Each door held supplies and weapons, but no Moblit. It was eerily quiet and no guard was in site, the echoing of her footsteps reverberating off the metal floors the only thing keeping her company. She remembered that the soldiers were on some holiday, so maybe that’s why the place wasn’t filled with them. She ran down another corridor and saw bright moonlight illuminating the end of the hallway, and she made her way towards it. She peeked through the doorway and found herself looking out into an open training ground in the middle of the base, all empty except for a small group of people

There was Moblit, being pushed along by a soldier. But he wasn’t alone—her eyes narrowed. “Jean, Sasha, and Armin?” The 3 of them were being restrained and pushed forward along with Moblit. Could she take all those guards down at once?Hange looked around for anything—anything to help her succeed. “Everything’s metal around here. There’s no earth for Jean and Sasha to bend, nor water for Armin. But I have to try.” She thought quickly and remembered some of the supply rooms she just ran past. She hurried back and smiled, locking her eyes on the small explosives sequestered in one of the closets. She grabbed a few, and returned to the training ground. She swiftly made her way around the top railings overlooking the grounds and threw a small grenade out past them. As the soldiers looked up towards the explosions, she scaled down the wall and ran towards them. Jean and Sasha reacted quickly, using the distraction to try and overtake the soldiers, and Hange helped take two of them down. 

“Hange no, it’s a trap!” Moblit yelled as he was held back. 

Soon, Hange felt hands grab her from behind, and an arm wrap around her neck. She struggled, flames from her hands causing some of the soldiers to yelp out in pain, but the hold was too strong. She couldn’t breathe, and her vision began to blur. “How could I be so stupid? They were using Moblit as bait, and it seemed they somehow found Jean, Sasha, and Armin too,” she thought. She thrashed under the hold, willpower being the only thing energizing her movements. Faintly, she heard echoes of Moblit, Armin, Jean, and Sasha struggling away from the guards, calling after her as she slowly faded out of consciousness. 

———

Hange woke up, finding her arms and legs restrained. Her efforts to firebend were futile—it seemed as though these restraints had some kind of fireproofing quality to them. “Fascinating,” Hange thought—her curiosity almost causing her to forget why she was even here. She grinned, thinking about how Levi would probably scold her for that, and tell her to focus on the issue at hand. 

Looking up, she saw a tattered tapestry hanging on the metal wall in front of her, a huge fire nation insignia stitched into its center. Staring at it reminded her of the one hanging in her childhood home, and it evoked the memories Zeke had tried coaxing out of her earlier.

She thought of her mother, and remembered her cradling her in her lap and humming a sweet song to her at the end of a long day. It was their little routine when she was just a little kid—she’d come home after playing with Erwin the whole afternoon after school every Friday. But one of those afternoons in particular, she remembered her mom tell her that she was so happy that she had a good friend—Erwin. Her mother then began to ramble on about her own best friend, sharing happy stories of them together, and admitted to her daughter how much she loved and missed that friendship.

“Why haven’t I met your best friend before?” Hange asked with wide, curious eyes accompanied with a small pout. Her mother smiled, “We still stay in contact. She ended up staying in the fire nation while we and the Smith's moved out here into the Earth Kingdom colonies.” She tucked a lock of Hange’s hair behind her ear. “Maybe you’ll meet her someday! She has a son that’s right around your age, actually.” 

Hange turned and gave her a big smile, one that made her mom laugh heartily. “Can you tell me her name?”

The heavy metal door slammed open jolting her out of her past memory. A young man with slicked back hair locked eyes with her. Kenny followed him and stood with his arms crossed in the shadows of the room, and Porco quietly closed the door and approached as Hange gave him an icy glare. He almost hesitated in fear, but he pressed forward towards her. “Zeke sent me here… t-to make you pay for all the damage you and the Scouts have done against the fire nation over the years.”

Hange muttered darkly, “Just get it over with already, torture me all you want, I won’t talk, and I can take it.” She knew she wouldn’t make it out of here unscathed, but as long as she could get the others here out safely, it didn’t matter to her. “Do your worst,” she said with a sly smile, feigning fierce bravery. 

The young man burst fire from his fingertips. “I’m sorry for this…” 

Hange’s screams echoed throughout the base, the sounds bouncing through the maze of hallways. Jean, Armin, Sasha, and Moblit froze where they sat, restrained in cells. They sat still in fear, trembling at the gut-wrenching sounds of their friend in excruciating pain. Moblit covered his ears and cried out for his sister. Armin closed his eyes and tried to shut out the horrible sounds and think. “What could we do? How… are we going to get out of this?”

Hange felt an unbearable burning in her left eye, and couldn’t help but yell out in pain. Porco stopped, and Hange tried catching her breath, but it felt as though it was running away from her. As the fire nation insignia in front of her shook and blurred while she tried to stay awake, she felt herself quite ready to pass out from the pain. Before she lost consciousness, her mind went back to the sweet memory that she reminisced over earlier—she heard her mother’s words one last time before fading into darkness:

“Her name?" She smiled warmly at Hange, who clasped her hands together in happy anticipation.

"Her name is Kuchel, darling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof sorry for this being way too long, i think i got carried away. Hope you all liked it, lmk your thoughts and predictions if you have any--I'd love to hear!
> 
> and yes, Hange's mother's best friend is Levi's mother, Kuchel! :D


	5. Interconnected

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof i apologize in advance if this chapter is boring

A 10 year-old Hange sat by the edge of the river running right outside her home, listening to the happy quacks of little turtle ducks swimming by. She smiled as she molded the fire in her palm into a small ball of flame, tossing and kicking it back and forth to herself. Erwin walked quietly towards the river, and stared at Hange from afar. He couldn’t help but watch, mesmerized at the finesse of her movements—she was a natural, more adept than even the adult firebenders he knew, at just 10 years old. She was just a kid, but she was skilled beyond her years. He was so proud of her, but admittedly, a little jealous. He looked down at his hands, sad that he wasn’t gifted with the ability to bend an element. He lowered them and shook his head—despite this, the pride he had for his best friend far outweighed any sadness he felt being a non-bender. He’d always stand by her side. 

“Hange, I got the stuff you asked for.” He pulled off his backpack and shook its contents onto the grass—a metal funnel, metal clamps, and wax adhesives. Hange’s eyes glowed with fiery excitement as she squealed with joy. “These are perfect!” She gathered the supplies and ran towards the house. “Come on Erwin, race you back to my room!” She sprinted ahead, and Erwin laughed as he ran to catch up with her. 

Hange ran into her home, tracking dirt all over the wooden floorboards. “Hange dear, come on, I just mopped the floor!” 

She disappeared into her room and yelled, “Sorry, Mom! I got a super-top-secret-urgent project to work on!”

Before she could ask Hange to come back and clean up her mess, she turned around to find Erwin already sweeping up the dirt. 

“Oh Erwin, you’re so sweet, you don’t need to do that!” She gently took the broom out of his hand and ruffled his hair. “Go join Hange, don’t worry about it,” she said softly. 

“Thanks for having me, Mrs. Zoe,” he politely nodded his head and walked into Hange’s room, closing the door gently behind him. He looked down to find Hange busy producing a tiny fire at the tip of her index finger, welding the metal to the rest of her contraption. Erwin knew better than to talk to her while she was engrossed in conjuring up her newest invention, so he put his backpack down on the floor and sat neatly across from her. He stared up at the wall, at the same picture frames he always looked at whenever he waited for Hange to finish her latest project. The picture was that of a man who resembled Hange’s father, his arm around a young Avatar Roku and a few other people, all of them smiling together.

According to Hange, the bespectacled man in the painting was her great grandfather, a good friend of Roku. Beneath this was a picture of Erwin’s grandparents arm-in-arm with Hange’s grandparents and all of their friends. The picture below that was one from a few years before either Hange or he was born, showing his and Hange’s parents laughing together, and in the center, a beautiful woman with long, black hair and the most gentle eyes. Generations… lifetimes of the most powerful firebenders, yet the most kind people were displayed there before him, and it was almost crazy to think that he and Hange, along with their new friends, Mike and Nanaba, were probably next in line to join that wall—a wall displaying both genuine friendship and deep loyalty to the peaceful and harmonious land the fire nation once was. Erwin smiled as he remembered his father’s words to him one night not too long ago—“Friendships really do transcend lifetimes.” 

“Success!” Hange held the contraption in her hand, a mess of metal tubes swirling into a metal funnel at the end. Before he could ask what it was, Hange was dragging him by the hand and climbing out the one window in her room. “Hurry up ya slowpoke! Before my mom or Moblit hears us!” 

They ran towards the small barn marking the halfway point between their houses. Hange walked along the edges of the barn to a spot in the dirt marked with a small scarf of hers. “Here! Help me dig, Erwin!” They used their hands to scoop piles of dirt out, deep enough to fit the end of the funnel under and inside the barn. 

“Ok! Can you stay right here and listen to me through the pipe? Tell me how clear the sound is.” Hange ran around the corner and into the barn, and began to speak and whisper, alternating between the two. Erwin’s eyes widened in shock at the clarity—even Hange’s whispers were audible through the pipe. “How did she even manage to do this?” he thought to himself. Now they could listen clearly to their parents’ secret meetings, and he was quite excited with their new tool.

“From the look on your face, I take it that the acoustics are perfect, no?” Hange smiled deviously, and Erwin returned it. The two friends happily bumped fists. “Now we can hear about their next mission without taking turns pressing our ears against the wall!”

Ever since she and Erwin stumbled upon a meeting about a year ago, their minds became hyper-fixated on discovering their parents' work and uncovering the secrets behind it all. Since they were probably the two most dangerously curious kids of all the fire nation, it was only natural that they’d figure it all out eventually. They had spent the past year trying to listen to the group meetings in the barn, and learned all about their missions. Ridden with curiosity, the two eventually found years of hidden documents containing information on their families, kept in boxes under faulty floorboards of their homes. 

When Avatar Roku mysteriously died nearly 100 years ago, his group of friends awaited their friend’s reincarnation as a child from one of the air temples. But after the fire nation attacks on the airbender monks, they feared the worst. The world began to tip out of balance, and when no avatar seemed to appear in the earth kingdom, they wondered whether the avatar was gone for good. But among Roku’s friends, hope was not lost—they passed down their stories from generation to generation, and as the fire nation grew in power, the Zoe family was the face of those defending from the inside, attempting to do what they could to restore balance. They became the crux of movement within the shadows of the fire nation, thwarting plans of conquering villages and cities of the world, keeping as many citizens and innocent people safe from fire nation soldiers’ violence. Their numbers have dwindled over the years from fighting for their cause, and most of them eventually moved into the earth kingdom colonies to help out the villages more closely, though a few stayed behind in the fire nation to continue retrieving intel from the inside and kept correspondence with any information gleaned. 

Hange was quite keen on listening for more every week, confident in her desire to follow in her family’s footsteps. As much as Erwin shared Hange’s excitement, part of him was deeply concerned about Hange’s safety. Out of the families that moved out into the earth kingdom colonies, she was the only firebender in their generation, and he was afraid that she’d have to take on too much responsibility and carry the brunt of the work in order to live up to their families’ names. But they were only kids, right? He waved away his own worries—it’s not like they’d have to join in on this right away. Their parents didn’t even know that they had found out about all of this yet.

\--------  
When the sun just began to set, the two friends snuck their way back to the barn under the calm, orange glow of the sky. They crouched down at the spot where they lodged Hange’s invention through the ground and listened in—but to their disappointment, the adults were simply chatting and enjoying each other’s company. “Booooring,” Hange sighed. “Maybe we should just call it a night, huh Erwin?” As Erwin readied himself to walk Hange home, he overheard the quiet closing of a door and a new voice sound through the pipe. They locked eyes and quickly threw themselves down to press their ears close and listen. 

“Kuchel!” Hange’s mother exclaimed, and they heard the soft sound of sniffles and happy cries of the reunion. 

“KUCHEL??” Hange exclaimed loudly. 

“Who’s Kuchel?”

“My mom’s friend! Her best friend!” Hange clasped her hands together and jumped around in excitement. “Oh I’ve always wanted to meet her, she sounds so nice and—“

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Hange and Erwin spun around to see Hange’s dad staring at the two of them and eyeing their little listening device. “Eavesdropping now, are we? You might have made something where you can hear us loud and clear, but did you consider the possibility that we could hear YOU loud and clear from the other side?” Erwin and Hange nervously laughed at his words—they really did forget to consider that. He bent down to look at Hange’s creation and his facade of playing “bad cop” parent melted away quite quickly, and he turned to his daughter and chuckled. “So how did you make it?” As the two Zoe’s babbled on about the intricacies of Hange’s ideas, Erwin continued to listen into the barn. 

“Oh yes, Kenny’s alright, as annoying as ever, telling me we should give up on all this and that my son and I should just move out here with all of you. But how else would we get more intel without me on the inside?”

“But you can move in with us! We can adjust. Our plans can change! Kenny’s right, it’s probably safer for you to stay here. On top of that, I’m sure your son would love to meet Erwin and Hange,” Hange’s mother answered.

“I’m sure he would. He’s very quiet and doesn’t really have any friends. But I have no doubt they’ll all meet someday.” She smiled at the thought of Levi making new friends, but her smile slowly transitioned into a concerned frown. “It might have to wait a year or two, though. I don’t know if I trust Zeke anymore...”

“Well what do you mean by that? Hasn’t Zeke proved himself to us?” Erwin’s father asked.

“I’ve seen him spend some more time with Ozai recently. I can’t put a finger on it... but I think something in him has changed. I think we may be able to trust him for now, but we’ll have to see.” 

The doors of the barn slammed open, revealing Hange’s father holding Hange in one arm and Erwin in the other. “I think we found our culprits!”

Mike and Nanaba’s parents burst into laughter, while Hange’s mother and Erwin’s father darted looks of deep disapproval at their children.

Hange’s dad playfully threw the two down into the pile of hay that the horses were working on, who seemed to neigh at them in disapproval. Hange and Erwin lost themselves in a fit of giggles that simply lightened up the room from the bleak conversation about Zeke. The rest of them began to catch up again and reminisce about the “good old days” while Erwin and Hange pet and fed the horses. 

A few hours later, Kuchel made her way over to them, and the two suddenly felt shy, falling quiet. 

Erwin’s eyes widened in recognition as she sat close to them. “You’re the beautiful lady in the picture,” Erwin accidentally whispered loud enough for Kuchel to hear. 

Kuchel laughed, “You’re Erwin, right? You’re the spitting image of your father, and from what I hear, the only person smart and strong enough to keep this one under control right?” she said as she looked over to Hange. 

“What, me?” Hange questioned. “Yes, you! Come here, dear,” she waved Hange towards her and gently pulled her glasses off, and wiped them clean with her sleeve, and carefully pushed them back onto Hange’s face. “And you’re the infamous, reckless Hange Zoe, correct?” She laughed, and Hange was simply mesmerized by her kind soul and the loving twinkle in her eyes. 

After warming up to each other, Hange soon begged for stories from Kuchel about how all their parents became friends and both she and Erwin eagerly listened. The three of them talked for what felt like hours, until Erwin and Hange could barely keep their eyes open, their sheer curiosity and interest in Kuchel the only thing keeping them awake enough to listen. 

“So that’s the sign of you all being undercover firebenders right?” Hange asked sleepily as she pointed to the little charm peeking out from pocket of her skirt. Kuchel was startled by her question, and sighed in defeat. “Well, neither of you should know anything about this until you’re old enough, but it was silly of me to think that you two wouldn’t figure that out by now being the nosy little kids you are,” she said with a small laugh. She pulled out the charm to show them. “When the time is right, we’ll all pass them down to you. It might not be as significant now—it was once used to prove that you were one to be trusted, but now that there’s not too many of us left...” Erwin noticed the hint of sadness that showed in her eyes. 

“Well, it‘s still important, something to remember who you are and where you came from. Whenever you look at it, I hope it brings you peace and reminds you that it’s our responsibility to bring back stability and light to our nation, no matter how dark it may become. But who knows, it still might be important in recognizing who is a friend or foe someday. Whoever holds one is someone you can trust—I can promise you both that.”

Hange asked, “Kuchel, will we ever get to meet your son?” 

“I have no doubt you will,” she said with a smile. “Hopefully soon. I think you both would be really good influences on him.” With a yawn, Hange asked one more question.

“What’s his name?”

But before they could hear Kuchel’s answer, both of them were fast asleep. Kuchel smiled lovingly at the two. She gently pulled off Hange’s glasses, pocketed them before picking her up. She chuckled at the sound of her snores as Hange’s face leaned against her chest— “Just like her mother,” she thought and suppressed full-on laughter. She then whispered quietly into Hange ear, hoping it would somehow register in her heart, despite her being asleep. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Hange. And.... I can’t wait for you meet Levi someday. Don’t let his little scowl fool you—he has a good heart.” Kuchel beckoned Hange’s mother over to pick up Erwin. “Come on, let’s go put these two to bed.” 

\--------  
Levi could not believe Erwin’s story. But... there was no denying the description of his own mother.

He remembered the day before his mother died, and her words that morning echoed in his mind, “Levi, did you know that some friendships are strong enough to transcend lifetimes?” He wondered if that applied here—an explanation as to why his bond with Hange ran so deep, and why he felt like he’d known Erwin, Moblit, Mike, and Nanaba for much longer than he actually did. 

They had been interconnected this whole time. As much as it frustrated him that knowing this would have made their meeting 3 years ago much easier, he felt a wave of happiness fall over him, and he was absolutely overwhelmed from head to toe.

“So, you’re Kuchel’s son.” Erwin remembered her kind eyes and gentle voice, and began to laugh. 

“Oi, what the hell are you laughing on about?”

Erwin continued to laugh and started to wipe tears from his eyes. “I was just thinking about how you’re just...well let’s just say I never thought Kuchel’s son would turn out to be such a small, angry man.” He laughed, along with Nanaba and Mike. Levi grumbled but couldn’t help but let out a tiny smile. 

After their laughter died down, Levi let the information sink in a little along with the situation at hand. “I didn’t know you met her...” he sighed. It seems there was a lot he didn’t know, and he wished he could turn back time and ask his mother everything. 

Mike asked, “What did happen to your mom anyway? I know you said she was gone but...”

“She died after she saved a child from a house fire. My uncle and I were gone training for a weekend. I was only 12 at the time,” Levi said as he stared down at the ground. 

“Since you and Hange are the same age... that must mean she died around the same Zeke betrayed everyone and had fire nation soldiers kill our parents,” Nanaba said quietly. 

Each of them held their parents’ charms tightly in their hands. All was silent except for the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze and the crackle of logs from their campfire. Dusk quickly fell upon them, the glow of the moon peeking through the light cloud cover. 

Erwin’s eyes softened as he looked at Levi. “Well, we got some work to do, don’t we? Hange and Moblit are in trouble—I can only imagine what Zeke wants to do with them.”

Levi looked up at Erwin, noticing a minuscule flicker of worry in his eyes. “My bet... is using an Agni Kai versus Hange as public display to destroy anymore hopes of internal rebellion.”

The other three furrowed their eyebrows at this, gritting their teeth in anger. 

“And... killing the last firebending Zoe would be the ultimate symbol of crushing any hope that may be left.”

Levi stood up and looked out into the horizon, in the direction Zeke and Kenny escaped the night before. He had a good idea of where they might be, but the exact coordinates of that base was kept hidden from everyone except for high ranking officials. However, knowing Hange, he had utmost confidence that she marked a way for them to find her. They'd just have to figure that out—and soon. 

Levi balled his hands into tight fists and fierce determination flickered in his eyes. 

“Well, we’re not gonna let her face Zeke alone, are we?” he whispered, not taking his eyes off the horizon. 

\--------

As Hange’s screams grew silent, Armin breathed a sad sigh of relief—either they stopped torturing her or she finally just passed out from the pain. Either way, she at least had some respite. He looked at the thick wooden bars of their cell, cross hatched like a solid net, trapping them inside. He could only assume that at least one guard was standing watch outside the metal door about 8 feet away from their cell—the only exit point in the room. How in the world were they supposed to get out of this mess? And more importantly, why were they targeting Hange? Where were the rest of the Scouts, anyway?

He turned back towards Moblit, “Hey so... what happened? How did you get captured?” 

Moblit used his sleeves to wipe at his tears, revealing his swollen eyes, filled with a terrifying swirl of anger and hopelessness. “They ambushed us, Zeke and Kenny. They set everything on fire and we didn’t stand a chance—and they told us...” He looked down, tangling his fingers in his hair anxiously, like he was trying to pry the memories out from his mind. 

“Told you what?”

“That Levi led them to us, and...that he was a firebender and... that he’s Kenny’s nephew.”

Sasha and Armin’s jaws dropped at the news, and Jean looked away, as he knew Levi’s secret. He wrestled with the possibility that he might have made a mistake in trusting him. “No... there’s no way I made the wrong call,” he thought.

“I’m not sure if I believe it, though. Hange was very adamant that we should trust Levi.” Happy memories of his relationship with Levi came rushing relentlessly into his head. “No, I don’t think we should stop trusting Levi.” He paused. “After that, the next thing I knew, I woke up restrained on the komodo rhino, and then saw all of you.”

“Moblit, why did they only take you, and no one else?” Sasha asked.

“Well Hange and Levi were in Ba Sing Se that night. And I think they were just using me as bait.”

“But why not any of the others, why just you?” Armin asked. “It doesn’t make any sense. Couldn’t they have just taken Erwin since he leads the Scouts?”

Moblit sighed. “I guess I better just fess up and explain everything, right? All of this would be easier if we were just on the same page.”

He fished a small, metal keychain from his pocket, a fire nation emblem etched into it, matching the one stitched into the red tapestry behind him. He held it up for them to see.

\--------

A dull pain ached against the left side of Hange’s face, the skin around her eye throbbing alongside her steady heartbeat. She felt a warm hand pressing a dressing over her left eye, and saw strands of black hair hanging over her. She blinked her right eye, confused as to why she wasn’t still in the barn back home, laying in the hay next to Erwin and Kuchel.

“K-Kuchel?” Hange croaked.

She was answered with a soft whisper, “No, I’m sorry, I don’t know who that is. My name is Pieck.” 

“Oh…” Hange sighed, wishing she could return to dreamland, back to her old, yet comforting memories.

A harsh, gruff voice sounded from the dark corner of the room, “Kuchel’s been long gone, dearie.” From the shadows, Kenny stepped out into the light next to Pieck. “My dumb sister died saving some stupid kid a long time ago.” He peered down at Hange and scoffed. “Didn’t think she’d go that way, to be honest. I thought she’d at least have gone doing the pathetic work your parents and her other friends got into.”

“…Sister?”

“Yeah, my dumb old sister. What, the genius Hange Zoe hadn’t figure it out yet?”

“Sister… then… you’re Levi’s uncle??”

He let out a chilling laugh and began clapping—pathetic applause at her realization. Kenny stepped closer and bent down, staring right into Hange’s face. “Zeke told Porco to do much worse than what he ended up doing to you. You’re lucky I happened to walk in and stop him—what kind of self-respecting uncle would let his wonderful nephew’s girlfriend suffer right in front of him?”

Hange felt her brain short-circuit at his comment. “Oh I know how my nephew works, I saw how he looked at you after your cute little group took down that fire nation camp in the forest. All of you trying to be like your parents—their work was pathetic and so are you.”

Hange tried to make sense of everything and it was difficult to concentrate against the throbbing pain in her eye, but she quickly focused on the situation at hand—no need to show him weakness at anything he decided to say to her. She wasn't sure if she could trust him, though his tone seemed genuine underneath the rough exterior. She laughed to herself--she knew how to read and communicate with Ackermans.

“Their work wasn’t stupid, you pathetic old man,” Hange retorted. 

Kenny laughed. “I told my sister not to get into that business. World’s gone to shit anyway, why not just live for yourself at this point?” 

Hange began seething at this response. The only reason why she didn’t burst out flames at Kenny was because she was completely disoriented to her surroundings. Sadly, she figured she’d kiss her left-sided vision goodbye. Plus, she didn’t want to injure the girl next to her, as she was clearly very kind, tending to enemy’s wounds. “Maybe if you actually joined your sister back then, you could have helped them!”

“Well maybe if they all just gave that up, none of them wouldn’t have died and left you all as orphans. Have you ever thought of that?”

She stared back at him and spat as she spoke, “Well if your arrogant ass is ‘living for himself’ then why the hell do you care about that, and why would you decide to lay your loyalty to Zeke?” Kenny stepped away to make sure no one was within hearing range in the corridor. He walked quickly back towards Hange and leaned down close to her face. 

“Listen here, little girl. My loyalty is to no one but myself. Zeke is simply offering the best deal I’ve gotten over last few years—we’re protected among his crew, plus the money’s good. And don’t get all disrespectful now, you’re lucky I didn’t let Porco take out that other eye of yours!”

“Or maybe you did it to keep Levi safe too, you DO care about him don’t you?” Hange teased.

Kenny scowled and grumbled at her comment—Hange stifled laughter as she now knew where Levi got it from. 

“You’re delusional, Zoe. You’re just like your parents.” He turned around and slammed the door behind him—the metal reverberating around the walls of the room, the force causing her sensitive eye to throb again. Hange winced in pain. 

Pieck held a cold compress to Hange’s face, and she sighed in relief. “Thank you,” Hange breathed out.

“Of course.”

Hange looked curiously at Pieck—“So, why are you helping me, anyway?” 

Pieck answered softly, “Hange, I know what Zeke wants to do with you. But I don’t want him to go through with it.”

Hange held back the fear in her heart. She abandoned her curiosity at Zeke's plans with herself for a second--she needed to clear up other information with Pieck first. 

“Why?”

“We’ve been friends since we were kids, and… I think he’s truly lost himself. This isn’t him, and it hasn’t been him in a long time. A lot has happened, Hange, and I think you’re just unfortunately stuck in the midst of it." She peeked out the doorway for any listening ears, and sat back down, whispering to Hange.

"There are guards everywhere though, and I can’t just let you out, plus your friends are still trapped somewhere in the building, and I don’t know exactly where. All I know, is that we have a decent amount of time before Zeke returns. In the meantime, rest.”

Hange breathed a sigh of relief—she was ridiculously lucky, she thought. Her mind scrambled to put together all the information she’s gathered and started on mustering up a plan to get everyone out of here safely. But one thing was really bothering her—was being friends with Zeke enough for this girl to help her, a Zoe, a target of the fire nation? There had to be something else--could it be?

“Pieck, can I ask you one more thing?”

She nodded, inviting her to continue.

Hange nodded back, “Is there any more reason why you’re trying to help me?”

Pieck smiled—Hange was just as sharp as the rumors told. She reached into her pocket and held out a luck charm, identical to everyone else’s, the fire nation emblem shining brightly back at Hange. Hange closed her eye and laughed, feeling nothing but hope and happiness. She wondered if Levi felt the same way at this same moment--after all the events of the past few hours, she thought it'd be quite likely that Levi, Erwin, Nanaba, and Mike were likely revealing their charms to each other right around now. It was about time.


End file.
